The charity argues that older diesels emit high levels of pollutants, which current Euro 5 and Euro 6 regulations are trying to minimise. However as the particulate matter and nitrogen oxide pollutants can contribute to lung cancer, asthma, diabetes and heart problems, the Foundation states that removing older vehicles should be considered for health and safety issues, with a financial incentive for owners to buy a cleaner vehicle.

Professor Stephen Glaister, Director of the RAC Foundation comments: "Many people believed that by buying diesels they would get better fuel consumption and help fight global warming through low CO2 emissions but such was the focus on the planet that policy makers missed the impact older diesel models in particular have on health in urban areas.The car industry has risen to the challenge of cleaning up diesel engines but we still need to deal with the legacy of the dirtiest diesels."