Emission standard

EU officials are still waiting to receive crucial air pollution reduction programmes from fifteen EU governments, including France, Germany, Poland and Spain.

The European Union's top court on Thursday said Poland had failed to uphold air quality standards, part of a wider EU battle to reduce deaths from airborne pollution which it estimates kills 400,000 people every year, Reuters reports. 

From yesterday, owners of older, dirtier cars will be charged an extra £10 if they want to drive into London. The Mayor, Saddiq Khan, announced the "Toxicity charge" in February as part of a package of measures to clean up the capital's "filthy air".

A judicial investigation into diesel emissions testing in France could widen beyond Renault after tests showed other carmakers had exceeded the authorized levels, the French environment minister said on Jan. 15, without elaborating. 

The government is said to be pondering major changes to the way that vehicles are withdrawn from circulation and road tax is calculated.