Ministers have been urged by MPs to introduce a scrappage scheme for diesel cars to help bring down dangerously high air pollution levels blamed for tens of thousands of deaths each year.
The scheme, proposed by the Commons Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) ahead of George Osborne's Autumn Statement next week, would provide incentives for motorists to get rid of their diesel vehicles in exchange for cleaner alternatives.
It (Other OTC: ITGL - news) revives memories of a ?400m scrappage scheme that ran from 2009 to 2010 and saw owners who scrapped their old cars paid ?2,000 - split between Government and the motor industry - towards the cost of a new one, boosting the fortunes of the car making industry.
The MPs' proposal to apply such a scheme nationwide to diesel cars echoes calls by London mayor Boris Johnson and the RAC (Taiwan OTC: 2237.TWO - news) last year.
It comes in the wake of Volkswagen?s admission earlier this year that it had cheated on emissions tests for its diesel vehicles. That prompted fears that VW owners had seen hundreds of pounds each knocked off the value of their cars.
The EAC also called for car tax to be altered to take into account emissions of nitrogen dioxide - the pollutant at the centre of the VW scandal - as well as carbon.
Committee chairman Huw Irranca-Davies said: "Tens of thousands of premature deaths are being caused in the UK every year by illegal levels of air pollution on our roads.
"Despite mounting evidence of the damage diesel fumes do to human health, changes to vehicle excise duty announced in this year?s Budget maintains the focus only on CO2 emissions."
He said this was a missed opportunity and the Chancellor had the chance to "strike a better balance" next week.
"The Treasury must use vehicle excise duty to create long-term incentives for drivers to buy cleaner hybrid and electric cars that minimise both CO2 and harmful pollutants.
"Introducing a national diesel scrappage scheme could also provide a short-cut to cleaning up the air in our cities," said Mr Irranca-Davies.
The report comes as VW confirms plans to slash its investment spending by ?1bn (?700m) for next year as it braces itself for a multi-billion euro hit from the emissions scandal.
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