New limits to reduce the amount of exhaust emissions allowed are going to be introduced by the EU. However, the Government wants to exempt heavy passenger vehicles (people carriers) from the new limits.
Speaking during a parliamentary debate on vehicle emissions, Lib Dem Shadow Transport Minister John Leech MP told the Transport Minister that he was wrong to seek to exempt these vehicles. John Leech also called for the rules to be toughened up so that manufacturers have to guarantee that their engines will keep to the new emission limits for twice as long as currently planned.
"Large passenger vehicles are among the most polluting vehicles around. They also use far more fuel than most other cars - that's why they are called gas guzzlers. I find it amazing that the government wants to allow motor manufacturers to carry on producing such cars with an exemption on reducing the amount of pollution they cause. This not will not only mean more exhaust emissions but also sends out the wrong signal about the type of cars people should drive. The government should be encouraging people to use smaller, less polluting cars which use less fuel, instead of large vehicles, which are bad for the environment."
