This capital creates one of the strictest and most ambitious environmental zones in Europe. But not everyone likes it.
The fight against air pollution is shifting into high gear in European metropolises. Stockholm, the Swedish capital, has just taken a strong decision for its residents and the environment: the ban on cars running on gasoline and diesel in the central areas of the city by 2025.
The main objective is twofold: to improve air quality, while reducing noise pollution from traffic. This bold plan will transform almost 20 city blocks in the central part of Stockholm into an exclusively environmental zone. Not least, the streets affected are home to some of the country’s most luxurious boutiques as well as some of Sweden’s most expensive offices.
The initiative is supported by the Greens party, a member of the ruling coalition within the municipal council. For them, this approach is a crucial step to facilitate the transition to electric cars, to the detriment of combustion engines. Lars Stromgren, Stockholm’s vice mayor in charge of transport, expressed concern about the current air quality. According to him, the deleterious effects of pollution are clear and deeply worrying: from respiratory problems in infants to premature deaths among seniors.
For better understanding, this new area will be classified as a “class 3 environmental zone”. This means that it will mainly favor the circulation of fully electric cars. However, the regulation provides for exceptions: certain plug-in hybrid vehicles, in particular larger vans, will be able to circulate there. Other exceptions concern emergency vehicles such as ambulances or police cars, as well as vehicles transporting disabled people.
Even though this project is ambitious, the municipality is already planning to expand this area after its initial launch. However, this announcement is not without controversy. Transport companies consider this initiative excessive. According to the Confederation of Swedish Transport Companies, rather than imposing drastic restrictions, the city should focus on developing charging infrastructure for electric cars, thus encouraging a voluntary transition. They also point out that since 2010, emissions have already seen a notable reduction of 34%.
