Gothenburg is creating a green, sustainable zone in the city center

There is still a lot to be done over the next few decades in order to achieve the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement. We have to drastically reduce our emissions and use new technologies to filter pollutants such as carbon dioxide out of the air. But what does the city of tomorrow look like? Sweden could do it now.

This spring, a green zone is to be created in the city of Gothenburg, in which future technologies for the sustainable city of tomorrow are to be tested. A major goal is that by 2030 there will be no more emissions within this area. Companies, universities and other volunteers can try out their products and services and make suggestions for the infrastructure and energy supply of tomorrow.

“In [the] zone, the city, business community and research actors will work together to switch the transport system to be emission-free in a very short [amount of] time. Axel Josefson, Chairman of the Gothenburg City Council

One does not want to explicitly issue any bans, even owners of a vehicle powered by diesel or gasoline can continue to participate in traffic. Rather, the networking of the infrastructure should be expanded so that the emission of greenhouse gases is minimized. The expansion of, for example, electric charging points could still serve as an incentive to buy an electric vehicle.

However, the current costs and plans for cars remain. The city toll introduced in 2013 will continue to run, and the sale of petrol and diesel vehicles is to be banned entirely across Sweden by 2030. The country wants to become the first nation to say goodbye to fossil fuels.

The next few months will show how successful the project is. A third of Sweden’s greenhouse gases are caused by mobility, so reducing emissions in this area could have a significant impact and perhaps extend the lives of dozens of citizens.

Own opinion:

Göteborg is going exactly the right way. Sustainable mobility offers should be expanded in large cities and combustion engines should be banned. In my opinion, mobility in the near future will be based on two pillars: the use of conventional drives in the countryside and emission-free transport in the city. A similar statement from Germany would be very welcome.

via Cities Today