"Mizter T" wrote:

---quote---
Van emission charge plan halted

Plans to extend a scheme preventing high polluting vehicles entering
London have been shelved by the city's mayor.

An expansion of London's Low Emission Zone (LEZ) would have seen
owners of heavily polluting vans and minibuses fined up to £500 a day
by October 2010.

Mayor Boris Johnson pulled the plug as he said it could damage
businesses already suffering in the recession.

Green Party London Assembly member Darren Johnson said it was
"condemning Londoners to more premature deaths".
[...]
The next phase would require owners of smaller vehicles such as vans
and minibuses to meet the same standards.

Good news. Small businesses don't need further financial burdens at this
time.

Presumably Darren Johnson is unconcerned with the emissions caused by the
vehicle manufacturing industry, and the 'premature deaths' this causes.

The best way to reduce pollution is to reduce consumption. You don't do that
by (effectively) condemning serviceable vehicles to the automotive graveyard
and insisting struggling businesses buy new ones.

Chris