 Plans follow French commitment to take polluting vehicles off the road owing to effect of poor air quality on people’s health 
 
 Britain to ban sale of all diesel and petrol cars and vans from 2040 
 
 Britain is to ban all new petrol and diesel cars and vans from 2040 amid fears that rising levels of nitrogen oxide pose a major risk to public health. The environment secretary, Michael Gove, will be hoping for a better reception when he publishes the final document on Wednesday following months of legal wrangling. The decision to phase out the internal combustion engine heralds a new era of low-emission technologies with major implications for the auto industry, society and the environment. Prof David Bailey, an automotive industry expert at Aston University, said: “The timescale involved here is sufficiently long-term to be taken seriously. Roughly 40,000 deaths in Britain each year are attributable to outdoor air pollution, according to a study published last year by the Royal College of Physicians. “A clear policy to move people towards cleaner vehicles by banning the sale of petrol and diesel cars and vans after 2040 is welcome, as is more funding for local authorities.
– Just weeks after France unveiled a plan to ban sales of gas and diesel cars by 2040, its neighbor to the north is following suit. Britain's government on Wednesday unveiled a nearly $4 billion plan to improve air quality that would see sales of new gas and diesel cars end by 2040. "Poor air quality is the biggest environmental risk to public health in the UK and this government is determined to take strong action in the shortest time possible," a government rep says, per the Guardian. The plan, which includes few concrete promises, sets aside $1.3 billion in funding for ultra-low-emission vehicles, plus more for low-emission taxis, and nearly $1.6 billion to promote cycling and walking. Money is also designated to retrofit public transport and improve air quality on roadways. Poor air quality, worsened by rising levels of nitrogen oxides from car exhaust, is tied to an estimated 40,000 deaths in the UK each year, including some 9,000 in London, plus billions in lost productivity, per the BBC. "We can't carry on with diesel and [gas] cars," UK environment secretary Michael Gove told the BBC, via CNNMoney. "There is no alternative to embracing new technology." But meeting the government's goal won't be an easy feat. Demand for electric, fuel cell, and hybrid cars spiked 40% in the UK in 2015, but those cars only made up less than 3% of the market. The CEO of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders notes consumers still have "concerns over affordability, range, and charging points" for low-emission vehicles.