Paris Mayor Calls for Ban on Diesel Cars by 2020

Announcement is the latest approach to reducing pollution in French capital.

December 09, 2014

PARIS – The mayor of Paris has called for diesel cars to be banned from the French capital by 2020 as part of plans to reduce pollution, according to a report this week from BBC News.

According to news reports, Mayor Anne Hidalgo told France's Journal du Dimanche newspaper that she wanted only ultra low-emission vehicles on the capital's main thoroughfares. A partial car ban was imposed in March after the city’s air quality was found to be one of the worst on record.

"I want diesel cars out of Paris by 2020," Hidalgo was quoted as saying in the Journal du Dimanche. Her goal is to limit the traffic on some streets to "clean vehicles."

Hidalgo pointed to the increasing number of Parisians who don’t own cars, from 40% of city-dwellers in 2001 to 60% today. Her plans also include adding more pedestrian-friendly areas, doubling the number of bicycle lanes, limiting the tourist buses that clog Paris streets, banning trucks from cutting through the city, and adding electric vans to the city's car-sharing scheme. These plans will be discussed by the Paris city council this week.

In response to the announcement, the Diesel Technology Forum (DTF) issued a statement clarifying several of the issues related to diesel vehicles and air quality: “Much has been said about old generations of technology and problems, but not enough about new generations of technology and solutions,” explained Allen Schaeffer, DTF executive director. “The new generation of clean diesel technology is an ecological solution that will help France meet both clean air and climate goals, and it would be a mistake for French leaders not to embrace it.”

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