Europe Plans To Ban Petrol Cars From Cities By 2050

thecarchik writes "Can you imagine a future — thirty-nine years from now — where there are no engines humming, no exhaust smells, no car sounds of any kind in the city except the presumably Jetsons-like beeping of EVs? The European Commission can, and it has a transportation proposal aiming to do just that by 2050. Paris was the first city to suggest a ban on gas guzzlers in their city core, but this ban takes it to whole different level by planning to phase out all petrol cars completely from the city streets. While Paris was motivated by reduced pollution, the EU has broader aims of reduced foreign oil dependence, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, increased jobs within the EU, and improved infrastructure for future economic growth."

Comments

By 2050?

[MrEricSir]

39 years away is a LONG time. Many politicians will have a chance to overturn this during that time.

Or if you're an optimist, perhaps the free market will have beat them to the punch by then. Or you might point out that there already is a modern city without petrol cars.

Why is that hard to imagine?

[pablo_max]

Seriously, how is it a stretch to imagine a future where the primary source of energy is not derived from burning dead dinosaurs and plants?
Dont get me wrong, I love my Jeep! It is a hobby for me, but I certainly do not expect it will be my primary mode of transport in 20+ year. At least I hope to god we would have progressed a bit faster than that.
The move off fossil fuels is just like anything else that's hard; if you don't start at some point, you will never get there.

Re:To expensive

[jez9999]

The hilarious thing about Germany is, thanks to the Greens being in government for ages and the constant propganda spewing from Greenpeace et al., the German public are stongly against nuclear power. They're even shutting down their existing nuclear plants. How they expect to meet the huge increase in electricity demand on the grid that electric cars will cause without nuclear is beyond me; they're already getting 80% of their energy from... coal and gas. With no nuclear, they can throw vast amount of money at wind/solar and I predict they will still be spewing tons of crap out into the environment because of... coal and gas power stations.