This is no time to weaken limits on air pollution

‘If one in every 10 cars manages to meet legal standards under real-world test conditions, then the rest need to meet the bar, too,’ writes Penny Woods of the British Lung Foundation. Photograph: Tim Graham/Getty Images

I was dismayed to read your article (UK lobbying for weaker limits on air pollution, 14 December). The British Lung Foundation (BLF) has written to the government, urging ministers not to open a back door for laggard car manufacturers to escape through.

If one in every 10 cars manages to meet legal standards under real-world test conditions, then the rest need to meet the bar, too. After the VW emissions scandal, now is certainly not the time to weaken testing. Indeed, 96% of people in a recent BLF air pollution survey agreed with us that real-world tests are sorely needed. In the UK, there are tens of thousands of premature deaths every year from air pollution, which increases risk of lung cancer and impairs the development of children’s lungs.

Now is the time for the government to show leadership on this critical public health challenge.
Dr Penny Woods
Chief executive, the British Lung Foundation

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