Diesel's days are numbered in four major cities set to ban motorists from driving diesel-fuelled vehicles by 2025.
The mayors of Maris, Madrid, Athens and Mexico City agreed to block diesel-powered vehicles at a mayoral summit held in Mexico in December.
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo says the decision was taken to improve the health of millions of people in densely populated areas.
"Mayors have already stood up to say that the climate change is one of the greatest challenges we face," she says.
"Today, we also stand up to say we no longer tolerate air pollution and the health problems and deaths it causes - particularly for our most vulnerable citizens. Big problems like air pollution require bold action, and we call on car and bus manufacturers to join us."
The move comes as Paris banned some cars from driving on local roads on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday during a period of peak air pollution.
Paris is sending colour-coded stickers to all vehicles that indicate a car's age and pollution level. Police will then control which cars can and cannot enter the city, based on a vehicle's emissions.
Cars made before 1997 will be banned from entering Paris from July 1, 2017. The city has also increased the cost of parking, cancelled free parking on Saturdays and holidays, and is set to transform some roads into parkland.
Paris isn't alone in its drive to push cars out of cities - Athens mayor Giorgos Kaminis also hopes to remove all vehicles from the centre of the Greek capital in years to come. Madrid and Oslo are also moving in that direction, as is Sydney's CBD.
Helena Molin Vald?s, head of the World Health Organisation and United Nations Climate and Clean Air Coalition, says 92 per cent of the world's population live in places where air pollution levels exceed safe levels.
"Soot from diesel vehicles are amongst the big contributors to ill health and global warming," she says.
"By working with C40 cities and other partners, we can help cities work together, identify and implement the most effective solutions to rapidly improve air quality and achieve the BreatheLife goal to halve deaths from air pollution by 2030."
- with Reuters
5 Comments
jk | 2016-12-08 02:42:46
Laughable to think this could happen in Melbourne when we have such a deplorable public transport system (hello 24 hours? airport train?) and no genuine ring road to avoid travel into the CBD ring to cross from east to west or east to north. Then again, our ever inspiring politicians might spot (yet) another cash cow opportunity (oh, but it isn't a tax, just a levy) to be yet again wasted by cancelling a genuine east-west link, building a desal plant, or changing our number plates to The Education State... Maybe we should invest the $ pocketed into upgrading our speed/redlight cameras to have sniffing machines that issue on the spot fines for travelling at 2kmh over the limit when farting .0001% more carbon dioxide than a 2016 Hybrid Corolla in a 30kmh zone... Welcome to the nanny state peeps!
| 2016-12-08 03:15:51
Yeah, jk, let's all completely ignore the existence of petrol powered cars and EVs. Instead, we'll decide if we can't drive a disiesel, the only alternative is public transport. Here's a hint - you can always drive your car to a train station or bus stop if they ever band cars from the city. Or, better still, just stop going to the city and see how long the ban lasts.
stevecro | 2016-12-08 10:19:00
there was a band called The Cars. We talking banned though
Roger Ng | 2016-12-08 04:13:05
2025? I'll be surprised if the bulk of the vehicles on the road by then aren't battery powered. As for diesel, the technology underway to clean this fuel up is extraordinary. The reason for this is that the bulk of diesel fuel is used in shipping, road haulage, electricity generation and agricultural applications. This ban appears to be a gesture at best.
DJM61 | 2016-12-09 00:14:16
Before this happens I hope someone films Rendezvous actually from a Ferrari 275. The 1976 short film was shot from 450 SEL 6.9. With modern camera vibration reduction the 275 could work.