The 2015 edition of EUobserver's Regions & Cities magazine focuses on climate change and what cities and regions are doing.
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16 ––––– EUobserver Magazine 2015
Photo: DinosaursAreNotDead Climate host Paris bogged down by bureaucracy in making green targets a reality The French capital has set ambitious targets to reduce carbon emissions and energy consumption. But a multi-layered regional administration limits the impact of its actions. By Eric Maurice Since 1 July, buses and lorries built before 2001 cannot enter Paris. Next summer, the ban will be extended to all vehicles built before 1997. The ultimate target is to keep all diesel-powered vehicles built before 2011 out of the French capital. “I will not drop the aim of eradicating diesel in Paris by 2020,” said Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris. In a country where 59 percent of cars are still diesel-powered - only Luxembourg and Ireland use more - the ambition is both highly symbolic and seemingly politically risky. Hidalgo, who was elected in 2014, has made climate one of her flagship policies. Reducing traffic and carbon emissions is only the most visible measure of a wider drive to make Paris a leading city in the fight against climate change. EUobserver Magazine 2015 ––––– 17
