No petrol, diesel cars in Britain from 2040

Britain will ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2040 in an attempt to reduce air pollution

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Britain will ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2040 in an attempt to reduce air pollution.

Britain's step, which follows France, amounts to a victory for electric cars. The mayors of Paris, Madrid, Mexico City and Athens have said they plan to ban diesel vehicles from city centres by 2025, while the French government also aims to end the sale of new gasoline and diesel vehicles by 2040.

The British government has been under pressure to take steps to reduce air pollution after losing legal cases brought by campaign groups, and in May, set out proposals for a scheme to get rid of the most polluting vehicles.

"Today, we are confirming that that means there should be no new diesel or petrol vehicles by 2040," environment minister Michael Gove told BBC Radio. Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservatives had pledged to make "almost every car and van" zero-emission by 2050. The Times newspaper said the supply of hybrid vehicles, which have an electric and petrol or diesel engine, would also end.

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