Paris - city of love (for LPG)

© paris.frLPG autogas has been recognised as the cleanest liquid fuel - any car manufactured in 1997 and beyond earns a "1"

Following an example set in Europe by cities in Germany, Paris has introduced coloured stickers to mark and categorise cars according to the amount of pollutants emitted in their exhaust gasses. There are five categories for cars running on liquid fuels, numbered from 1 to 5 (1 being the cleanest, 5 the dirtiest), plus an additional „zero” category for EVs and hydrogen-powered vehicles, which are on the rise. We are proud to announce LPG autogas falls into category 1, which makes it the cleanest liquid fuel available.

Paris has declared war on old diesel-powered cars, but also all pre-1997 cars, which are responsible for the most pollutants in the city's air, including nitrogen oxides and particulate matter – soot soaked with benzene and aldehyde. Cars converted to run on LPG are not as strictly subject to year of production restrictions (at least as long as they're post-1997) and they can be used on all days across the entire city, even when "smog alerts” (excessive pollution levels) have been announced.

Starting from the second half of 2017, cars registered outside France, e.g. tourists visiting Paris, will also be obliged to have their cars stickered appropriately. Having obtained a 1, autogas-powered cars will be free to enter the strict centre of the city, unlike many diesels, including relatively new ones (6 years old). As of July 1, 2016, all cars manufactured before January 1, 1997, are prohibited from entering Paris on weekdays between 8 AM and 8 PM.

The example of Paris shows dire measures are the most efficient ones. Some may argue it's unfair to punish the ones who cannot afford cleaner and greener cars by banning their vehicles, but the overall social cost of keeping old cars on the roads is too high – people die prematurely because of air pollution. Clearly the number of cities eager to address the problem is rising and not just in France or Germany, but also in Great Britain. Let's hope the idea will spread across entire Europe.