Ban on Old Vehicles is Not Enough to Clean Delhi's Air

Banning old diesel vehicles may not be enough to address severe air pollution in Delhi. Other countries have been imposing higher taxes, excise duties and registration costs to discourage people from buying diesel vehicles. They have also introduced low-sulphur diesel to clean up vehicle emissions. Read more @ Times of India

Infographic - Share of banned vehicles contribution to PM pollution problem in Delhi

Don S Jayaweera, chairman of National Transport Commission in Sri Lanka, recently made a presentation in Delhi on how Sri Lanka managed to discourage diesel vehicles. It registered 4,371 hybrid cars to its fleet as against 178 diesel cars and 2,099 petrol cars in 2015. In 2014, it added 23,287 hybrid, 2,846 diesel and 12,226 petrol cars.

The French government, which is considering making Paris diesel-free by 2020, doesn't allow diesel cars to run on severe smog days. With its focus on reducing CO2 emissions, European countries promoted diesel cars for many years, but they have had to pay a price in terms of high levels of PM2.5 (fine, respirable particles) and oxides of nitrogen (NOx). Civil society organizations recently took United Kingdom to court for breaching safe standards for nitrogen dioxide (NO2).