To: Government
ASK FOR A PHASE-OUT OF PETROL VEHICLES
To avoid the worst impacts of the climate crisis, we need to quickly move beyond gasoline to clean up alternatives. We cannot afford to wait.
Why is this important?
The extraction, transport, refining and use of petroleum and petrol cause damage to people, air, water, land, animals and plants.
Gasoline engine exhaust pollutes the air, causing asthma, heart and lung disease, cancer, dementia and thousands of premature deaths each year. Vehicle exhaust affects children, disadvantaged communities and communities of color most, with disproportionate impacts on health, finances and quality of life.
How will it help reduce pollution?
Emissions of nitrogen oxides (Nox) - which come from car exhausts - regularly exceed safe levels in many cities.
Diesel vehicles produce the overwhelming majority of roadside Nox gases. So removing petrol and diesel vehicles from the roads should help bring air quality within the guidelines set out by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Air pollution has been a concern for decades. But the issue gained renewed urgency when the UK government lost court cases over its plans to reduce nitrogen-dioxide levels.