Pollution: Oslo temporarily bans diesel vehicles

World News Adina Camarasu
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The Norwegian capital Oslo will prohibit starting this Tuesday the participation at the traffic of diesel vehicles.

The officials target reducing the air pollution.

The measure is not so well received by drivers. Their rage was understandable.

Norwegians have been encouraged for several years to buy cars with this type of engine, informed France Presse.

The ban will be valid on municipal roads, but not on major national roads crossing the Norwegian capital.

Also, the interdiction should remain in force until Thursday. Then it will be expected an improvement of weather conditions, announced the Municipality of Oslo on Sunday evening.

The ones violating the law will have to endure a 1,500 kroner fine, that is almost 150 euros.

This is the first time when Oslo implements this kind of measure.

The law was decided by the municipal majority in February 2016, regrouping labor workers and environmentalists.

Even if emitting less carbon dioxide, diesel engines emit more nitrogen dioxide (NO2).

Norwegian capital’s reactions

‘In Oslo, you can not ask children, the elderly and those with respiratory problems to stay indoors because the air is too dangerous to breathe’, explained Nguyen Lan Marie Berg.

The announcement sparked the fury of drivers, incited in 2006 by the Norwegian authorities to opt for diesel engines, then considered more environmentally friendly than gasoline ones.

‘Decide. Not long ago, Jens (former Norwegian Prime Minister, now head of NATO), recommended diesel instead of gasoline’, stated Signora Irene Maier.

Instead, other users of the internet have used a more colorful language, writes AFP.

Mazyar Keshvari, a populist MP of the Progress Party and a member of the governing coalition, has urged drivers to request compensation.

‘The biggest scam at the expense of drivers in Norway has become reality’, he said on TV2.

According to the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, the polluted air causes the premature death of 185 people each year in Oslo.