Diesel users ‘misled’

Following recent action from the European Union the President of the AA has claimed that millions of people using diesel fuel have been ‘misled’ and will now suffer for it.

Over the last 20 years the government has been pushing for people to switch to diesel in order to emit less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. However now Britain is being sued for polluting the air over the set limits for which diesel drivers will be affected the most. In London, Boris Johnson has stated that cars using diesel will pay an extra tenner in congestion charge and this scheme may roll out in a further 18 cities.

Edmund King, the President of the AA, has warned that in addition to paying more at the pumps already, the new levies will hit hard on people who thought they were saving the environment by choosing diesel.

The emissions bring a health risk but these risks were not publicised at the time when there was a push for people to change to diesel-run vehicles. In 2001 Gordon Brown altered the vehicle duty to impact on those cars that emitted more CO2 and began a campaign for the switch.

It may be that now the 10 million or so diesel users will think about a switch back to regular petrol to save the pennies in this tough financial climate.