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Soundbites: banning diesel cars from cities

The Mayor of Paris has radical plans to ban most diesel cars from the French capital by 2020 due to pollution concerns. Would you like to see British cities follow suit?

Absolutely not. Diesel, NOx and particulate matter standards have tightened considerably. A better approach would be incentives to replace older vehicles in cities. 
Jon King, Alcester, Warwickshire  

The correct approach is to set tight targets to drive development of lower emission engines. 
Anonymous

Another case of a politician jumping onto a bandwagon while having no idea of its destination? There seems to be a growing case that diesel particulates might be harmful but until it is proven it seems foolish to abandon the ever increasing economy provided by diesel engines. 
William Richardson, Haddenham, Buckinghamshire

Use of oil/gas products has to be drastically reduced to prevent catastrophic damage to earth systems required to sustain life. Electric vehicles have to become the norm. Banning diesel comes under this umbrella. 
Tom Irons, Ayrshire 

Yes please! After reports of Oxford Street being the most polluted street in the world, it would be irresponsible not to. Removing diesel cars should push other diesel vehicles to follow. 
Scot Fisher, London  

State-of-the-art diesel vehicles have very low emissions and should not be banned, and penalising motorists for selecting a technology that has had significant CO2 benefits seems ill-judged. I would prefer to see more investment in public transport. 
Nick Lyons, Lincoln 

Banning diesels is extreme and impracticable. Why not progressively increase road fuel duty on diesel but not petrol?
Chris Fox, Chester 

As a driver of a diesel car (chosen because of good fuel efficiency and low CO2 emissions), I consider a blanket ban to be overzealous and unnecessary. My suggestion would be a sliding-scale congestion charge, with higher charges for higher emissions. 
Neil Dinmore, Derby 

I’d be in favour of the ban but only if it was introduced in a staged fashion so most people wouldn’t have to change their car until they would normally – that would mean staging the ban over 10 years.
Bill Loth, Reigate, Surrey 

One of the things which used to distinguish Paris from British cities was the smell of French tobacco but it doesn’t any more. I expect the Mayor has banned that as well. 
Edwin Smith, Marlow, Bucks   

Why only most diesel cars, why not all diesel cars or all cars? How will he decide which ones are banned? Will only diesel cars from French manufacturers be allowed in? 
Anonymous 

Ban them from the whole country. Diesel is dirty and dangerous.
Anonymous

Most definitely. By comparison, modern petrol engined cars practically clean the air that passes through them. Diesel engines should be large, always up to temperature and driving a generator somewhere. 
James Turner, Surrey 

Extraordinary decision considering the diesel price incentive in France. It would not be popular with the French in view of the fact that most of them drive diesel cars. Better to incentivise low/zero-emission vehicles? And increase the cost of diesel progressively. 
Mike Bly, Holmfirth, Yorkshire 

Banning diesel cars might limit further improvements in diesel engines. I would like to see decisions based on solid scientific evidence, not just doing what looks green. 
Rita Shevchenko, Gloucester 

The problem is older diesels. The Mayor of Paris’s response is political and there is no situation so bad that it cannot be made worse by the involvement of politicians. 
Peter Howells, Tamworth, Staffs

Buses, coaches and trucks cause more problems than cars. More radical would be to ban all cars. 
Geoff Buck, Newton Abbot, Devon 

Cars carrying one or two passengers are not a feasible solution for cities regardless of fuel type. It’s going to require a better transport plan or a decentralisation of factories and offices from big cities. 
John Green, Darlington  

Yes, there should be a major push to shift all private vehicles out of cities. 
Stephen Henderson, Birmingham 

The ideal would be to fix the problem with diesel engines, not ban them. However it would be nice to have only electric vehicles in cities. 
Chris Jones, Hilton, Derby 

Yes, and back this up by providing cheap, electrically powered public transport.
Richard Young, Manchester 

If the car meets Euro 6 standards, then this is madness. There will be little or no difference between diesel and petrol cars, so why single out diesel unfairly? 
Dan McNeil, Ayrshire   

It would be better to ban all private vehicles from the city. Personal transport would then be by electric driverless taxi-pods that could be summoned when required.
Clive Renton, Chippenham  

‘Most’ implies there will be some exceptions. As long as this includes cars like mine then I think it is a splendid idea! 
Gary Lock, Dorking, Surrey    

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