The tough stance taken by a green coalition including Emily Thornberry's House of Commons Environment Committee and the Mayor of London Ken Livingstone has been recognised by Greenpeace as the number of 4X4s sold in Britain fell this year for the first time ever.
Sales of 4x4s have doubled in the last 10 years, with last year alone seeing an increase in sales of over 12%. However, figures for 2006 show a fall in the number of 4x4s sold, following aggressive green policies from Emily's Environment Committee and the Mayor of London.
Greenpeace has drawn attention to the Environment Committee's recent recommendation to raise road tax on the worst gas-guzzlers, along with the Mayor of London's threat of a £25 congestion charge on ‘Chelsea Tractors'. Greenpeace say these actions appear to have slowed the trend for polluting vehicles.
Emily said:
"I am determined to get 4x4s off Islington's roads. I've been using every means possible to send 4x4 drivers the message that they're ruining the environment and killing pedestrians. I am glad we've started to buck the trend, but I'll keep up the pressure to make sure this continues"
Greenpeace campaigner Emily Armistead said:
"Tony Blair should enact proposals from backbench MPs to tax these polluting vehicles more heavily so they are driven off our roads completely".
Figures from the Department for Transport show that the number of polluting cars in Britain is falling across the board, as drivers switch to public transport, bikes, or green-fuel cars. Sales of Hybrid Cars like the Toyota Prius more than doubled last year, whilst sales of 4x4s fell for the first time ever between 2005 and 2006.
