Lawmakers are making moves that could spell the end for diesel-powered vehicles.
After Volkswagen’s diesel emissions scandal of 2015, many in the European Union have taken an increasingly strong stance against diesel vehicles and now, have announced new rules that will prevent carmakers for selling vehicles that produce more emissions when being driven than in official tests.
On Tuesday, the European parliament voted in favor of a bill that will allow for fines of up to 30,000 euros ($32,000) per vehicle that fails to comply. According to the European Union’s industry commissioner Elżbieta Bieńkowska, these measures will eventually spell the end of diesel cars, reports Technology Review.
“Diesel will not disappear from one day to another. But I am quite sure they will disappear much faster than we can imagine,” Bieńkowska said.
Alongside this EU wide crackdown, the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, announced new proposals that will charge polluting vehicles from entering the city and in the coming weeks, the national government may announce similar plans to limit or totally ban diesel use in 35 additional towns and cities throughout the country.
Last year, the mayors of Paris, Mexico City, Madrid and Athens announced that diesel cars and vans would be banned from their city centers by 2025 in a bid to improve air quality.
Although diesel vehicles are quite economical, they emit toxic soot and nitrogen oxide and are believed to be a key contributor in the premature deaths of over 3 million people per year due to poor air quality. While experts in the field won’t be surprised about this, it seems apparent that world leaders needed the wakeup call that dieselgate provided to take action.
PHOTO GALLERY
