Unwelcome news for diesel drivers: global city governments continue to tighten rules on fumes, including new plans for diesel cars to be banned outright in some major cities within ten years.
At the C40 summit for city authorities, the mayors of Parish, Athens, Mexico City and Madrid all announced a ban by the mid 2020s. This follows the 2000 ban on all but the cleanest diesels from Tokyo. In July the IPPR think tank published a report urging the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, to do the same. Drastic measures, it argued, are needed in order to meet the EU’s emissions targets, of which the capital currently falls far short.
Analysts predict that the dramatic move will likely stoke fears among car manufacturers that the traditional diesel car market is no longer a practical long-term investment, with implications for the industry reaching far into the future.
Despite the inevitable promise of improved public transit and bicycling options, this move will likely see an increase in CO2 emissions into the future, as petrol –the worse of the two for carbon dioxide emissions- will undoubtedly become the more popular option for urban drivers once more and more cities begin implementing diesel bans. The concern surrounding diesels comes from the tiny particles of Diesel Particulate Matter (DPM) which are small enough to travel in air and penetrate the lungs, causing or exacerbating many different conditions. Further, a compound called NOx, or Nitrogen Oxide, is also an emission of diesel engines that can cause serious health conditions. These two factors have long alarmed environmentalists, and green-thinking local authorities see the diesel car ban as an acceptable price to pay. A clean DPF filter is the best way to avoid harmful pollutants escaping your engine, and mitigating the effects of diesel fumes. If you take car of your diesel car, it’ll take care of you.