EU ban on petrol and diesel cars from city centres by 2050

Say goodbye to the Black Cab & London bus under EU plans

In yet another case of ‘Why do we elect idiots to govern us?’, the EU is calling for a complete ban on all petrol and diesel powered cars from city centres by 2050. Why not by next year?

The ‘Brussels Ban’ lays out a timescale for other ‘worthy’ objectives along the way. EU Transport Commissioner Siim Kallas said they aim to cut in half the number of conventionally-fuelled cars in citites by 2030, with a total ban twenty years later.

The EU also wants all major ‘Hub’ airports connected by rail by 2050 and all lorries to be carbon-free in cities by 2030. It also wants meat banned by 2020 and cows to stop farting by 2015 to reduce harmful greenhouse gases.

Oh, alright. We made the last bit up.

Thankfully, and perhaps astonishingly, the UK government has told the EU to shove their proposals. UK Transport Minister Norman Baker said policies in UK cities were nothing to do with the EU, and that “We will not be banning cars from city centres anymore than we will be having rectangular bananas.”

Unfortunately, EU directive 2002/873/EC makes rectangular bananas compulsory by 2012 to cut carbon waste in transport.

By Cars UK