Bath (United Kingdom) (AFP)

In front of the covered market in the English city of Bath, a brand new white van: Michele Dicorato's.

The trader has adopted a "cleaner" model to escape a tax on polluting vehicles that came into effect on Monday.

"If I had done as I see fit, I would not have changed it but I had no choice," says this boss of a drugstore, in the middle of doormats, oilcloths and wastepaper baskets.

From Monday, drivers of polluting vehicles must pay a daily tax ranging from 9 to 100 pounds (10 to 116 euros) to drive in the center of this popular city in southwest England. tourists for its Roman thermal baths and its majestic neoclassical buildings.

This initiative, unprecedented in the United Kingdom outside London, aims to reduce toxic emissions.

Similar measures are planned in Birmingham, central England, Bradford (north) or Bristol (south-west), with the support of the government, which was condemned by the courts in 2018 for its inaction on the pollution. air.

The United Kingdom, which is hosting the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow in November, now wants to be at the forefront and is committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.

In Bath, nitrogen dioxide (NO2) pollution, which is mainly caused by diesel and older gasoline vehicles, exceeds legal limits.

However, high levels can trigger asthma attacks, a condition that affects around 12,000 people in Bath and the surrounding area.

"Despite the confinement, with many people staying at home and less traffic, the legal limit for nitrogen dioxide continues to be exceeded in four places in the city center," Sarah Warren, a local councilor, told AFP.

To lower these levels, a "clean air zone" has been created.

Signs representing a cloud on a green background indicate its outlines, and cameras have been installed to locate license plates.

Private vehicles and motorcycles are exempt from this tax after a public consultation which revealed "a strong concern about the impact of the measure on the most vulnerable", explains Sarah Warren.

- From 9 to 100 pounds per day -

As far as taxi drivers are concerned, we are shameless.

"Now is not the time to do that, while we are struggling to survive," said Tim Elbehiry, 49, waiting for one of the few customers of the day in a downtown street with many closed storefronts, confinement obliges.

But this father considers himself "lucky", because his black Mercedes, a diesel vehicle bought in 2015, narrowly meets the criteria set to avoid the new tax, which amounts to 9 pounds (10.5 euros) for taxis.

This tax, payable 24 hours a day, seven days a week, climbs to 100 pounds per day (116 euros) for drivers of polluting buses, coaches and heavy goods vehicles.

Chris Ashley, Environment and Regulations Manager at the Road Haulage Association, considers the measure "brutal": "It condemns vehicles that are only five, six or seven years old."

Despite subsidies to facilitate the purchase of cleaner vehicles, he says members of his association of road hauliers are struggling to adapt due to a "lack" of trucks meeting environmental criteria available for purchase.

In the face of the difficult economic context, the fight against air pollution has become a priority.

For Imogen Martineau, UK manager of the Clean Air Fund, which raises awareness of air pollution, low-emission areas like Bath "are identified as the fastest way to reduce dioxide levels. nitrogen ".

If the UK managed to bring air pollution back to the limits recommended by the World Health Organization, it would prevent 17,000 premature births each year, according to the Clean air fund.

A positive impact for health but also for the economy, underlines Imogen Martineau: "three million working days are lost each year due to air pollution, because of workers falling ill or having to take care of 'sick children'.

© 2021 AFP