THE Conservative Party has unveiled a package of measures designed to cut car pollution based on a series of tax incentives. Known as the 'blue-green' tax policy, the party claims its approach is poles apart from the 'heavy regulation, high taxes and state intervention' which the Conservatives say characterise the Government's 'anti-motorist' stance.

Damian Green MP, Conservative environment spokesman, said: 'The tax system can be used to promote environmental improvement. Cutting taxes for motorists who choose vehicles that produce low emissions or no harmful emissions at all, is the only common sense solution. We need tax incentives not tax increases to encourage greener behaviour.'

The Conservatives' key tax promises for 'greener' cars are tax discounts for drivers of alternative fuelled vehicles; VED discounts for three grades: zero emission vehicles (solar power, electric power and fuel cells), very low emission cars (LPG/CNG), and low emission cars (petrol-electric, petrol-LPG) and biodiesel.; and VED to be graded according to environmental standards

VED should be used to discourage all air pollution, not just global warming (the focus of the current CO2-driven proposals), say the Tories, who prpose VED bands based on pre-Euro I, Euro I, Euro II and Euro III emission standards. They also want duty cut on cleaner fuels like LPG/CNG, biodiesel and clean (City) diesel/ultra low sulphur diesel: The differential between standard diesel and cleaner diesel should be 'at the very least' be the same as the differential between leaded and unleaded petrol.