In an effort to lessen the amount of pollution that is produced and the amount of noise that is generated, the city of Stockholm has declared its intention to become the first major capital city to prohibit gasoline and diesel-powered vehicles from entering its central business district.
Electric car traffic will be confined to only those 20 blocks of Stockholm’s inner city area beginning in the year 2025. These blocks span Stockholm’s main commercial and financial sectors. At the beginning of 2025, a determination will be taken regarding whether or not to enlarge the zone.
Lars Stromgren, who is the city’s deputy mayor for transport and announced the idea, stated that “today, the air in Stockholm causes babies to have lung conditions and the elderly to die prematurely.” We have to get rid of the dangerous exhaust emissions that come from gasoline and diesel vehicles. Because of this, we are establishing the most advanced and comprehensive low-emission zone to date.
A number of cities have either implemented, or are in the process of implementing, programs to try to combat air pollution; however, Stockholm’s goes further than most of the others. Only diesel vehicles are prohibited to drive in Paris, Athens, and Madrid; however, London has a pricing system that applies to the most polluting internal combustion engines.
“Many cities have implemented low-emission zones where high-emission cars are allowed to drive if they pay a charge,” Stromgren was cited as saying by Air Quality News. “Low-emission zones” are also known as “clean air zones.” “The model used in Stockholm is more comprehensive. It is strictly forbidden to drive a gasoline or diesel-powered vehicle. It has a higher level of ‘ultra’ than the ultra-low emission zone in London.
“We have selected a region in which a significant number of pedestrians and bicycles are subjected to injurious levels of air pollution on a daily basis. It is also a neighborhood in the city that is home to forward-thinking businesses that are eager to lead the transition to a more sustainable future.
The plan does come with some restrictions. In spite of the fact that its primary purpose is to make it possible to drive solely fully electric vehicles, larger vans equipped with plug-in hybrid engines will also be permitted. In addition, there will be exemptions provided for emergency vehicles including the ambulances and police cars, as well as vehicles in which the driver or a passenger has a medically verified impairment.
The Green party of Sweden is a member of a coalition of left-leaning parties and parties with an emphasis on environmental issues that now controls the Stockholm city government. The Green Party has expressed the expectation that the low emission zone will encourage more people to purchase electric vehicles.
Representatives from the transportation industry commented that the plan was too progressive. Since the year 2010, we have managed to cut our emissions by 34 percent. The Swedish Confederation of Transport Enterprises stated that the Green party and their partners in the city of Stockholm are presently in far too much of a hurry.
