EU to ban cars from cities by 2050

Cars will be banned from London and all other cities across Europe under a draconian EU master plan to cut CO2 emissions by 60 per cent over the next 40 years.

The European Commission on Monday unveiled a "single European transport area" aimed at enforcing "a profound shift in transport patterns for passengers" by 2050. The plan also envisages an end to cheap holiday flights from Britain to southern Europe with a target that over 50 per cent of all journeys above 186 miles should be by rail. Top of the EU's list to cut climate change emissions is a target of "zero" for the number of petrol and diesel-driven cars and lorries in the EU's future cities.

UK Telegraph

This one seems to encompass several topics/conspiracies.

Tell me again that Global Warming is a myth.

Seems like a pretty drastic measure to curb the use of Fossil Fuel. Maybe we really are running out.

Talk about CONTROL. The Government will know pretty much everything about you by tracking your travel.

well they would want to get crackin on a good transport system(in ireland anyway lol) so to cope with the amount of people traveling in and around the city, also a very very VERY large car park lol.

I kinda like the idea - Breathing exhaust fumes ain't exactly healthy, and pictures of cities engulfed in smog during sunsets really put things into perspective.

Public transportation would have to be top notch though, and should be worked out way before the "ban" sets in - We need to be able to move freely and fast.

The more i think of it, the better an idea this actually is - why do we have to wait for 2050?

This proves how naive the political leaders are!! By 2020 the number of circulating cars will reduce by 50% without the intervention of EU. Why? It is called PEAK OIL. By 2020 petrol will be over 3 euro per liter all over Europe. Who would still use the car?

reply to post by scoobyrob


The investment in infrastructure will have to be considerable.

Sure some cities already have mass transit in place but I'm sure it couldn't cope with such a change.

I guess some of the requirements could be satisfied by alternative fueled buses.

Originally posted by K-Raz
The more i think of it, the better an idea this actually is - why do we have to wait for 2050?

I agree it would be better for our health and the environment. But let me try to address the above question. Do you have any idea how many jobs rely on OIL and automobiles?

You have the guys working in the oil fields, the guys who ship it to the refinery, they guys who refines it, the guys who builds cars to run on gas, the mechanics who repairs the cars that run on gas, the guys who builds roads for the car that runs on gas. the guys who repairs the roads that were built so the cars that run on gas have a place to drive. Then there are the guys who sell gasoline and all the accessories, then the guys who sell the cars. Then you have people who repair cars from accidents. Which includes the guys who paint the cars that run on oil/gas which need roads to drive on which require people to have a license and insurance which requires more people etc etc etc

Ad infinitum...

There has to be something that can replace just the few jobs I've mentioned.

It specifies that they want to ban "petrol and diesel-driven cars and lorries". That means you should still be able to ride around in an electric car, scooter or whatever else as long as it doesn't give off emissions. By 2050 we should have engineered plenty of such vehicles. I don't see why not. Most of the cars you buy today will be replaced two or three times over, depending on mechanical issues, accidents and the desire to upgrade to something newer.

If they had said "we're banning petrol-driven cars two years from now", I'd be more concerned. It gives us a good 30-40 years before this law goes into effect, and that's ample time to upgrade to an alternative-fuel vehicle.

reply to post by SLAYER69


I'm aware of that - those people would be switching batteries, growing fuel crops, keeping PV cells clean, drive or service public transportation.

Oil is just a storage medium for energy - we would still use the same energy to get around, just in a cleaner form. Oil really hasn't done us any good and we should have ditched it yesterday.

Originally posted by LazyGuy
This one seems to encompass several topics/conspiracies.

Tell me again that Global Warming is a myth.

I don't think anyone had doubts about the earth warming up slowly. People have doubts whether or not we're causing it. In my personal opinion I think it's a natural cycle of the earth coming in and out of an ice age. We're still coming out of the last one. We can't stop global warming from happening since it would happen with or without us here on earth, but it sure would be nice to be able to breathe fresh air instead of the smog that pollutes our environment. This is a very long discussion that's been done to death, so I'll just stop there.

Seems like a pretty drastic measure to curb the use of Fossil Fuel. Maybe we really are running out.

If we want to get rid of smog, we're going to have to find an alternative fuel for our vehicles. Oil will still remain very important in the production of many, many products. We'll be able to lessen our dependency on oil, but we wont' eliminate that need completely for a long, long time. The oil wars are costly, buying it isn't cheap, so the only thing left to do is to try to use as little of it as possible.

Talk about CONTROL. The Government will know pretty much everything about you by tracking your travel.

As much as I enjoy conspiracies, I think the fact that they're trying to ban specifically petrol/diesel-consuming cars means you'll still be able to get around in your own -electric- car for example. This will take place in 2050! It's 2011 right now, so that gives you about 40 years to replace your current vehicle. That's more time than anyone could possibly need to replace a car. Technology is moving fast, and we're already seeing many hybrids and electric cars on the road. Most of us will be driving electric cars by then anyway! With your electric car I'm sure you'll have access to any part of the city.

reply to post by K-Raz


True...

But the transition is what takes time.
We have had the technology available to us for environmentally friendlier transportation but AGAIN corporate greed [Big Oil] killed that. Anybody reading this remember the EV-1? Now it's a museum piece. Sure, there are vehicles on the market these days. However we could have had a major jump start had it's development and sales continued.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/1e4e1db8e5c6.jpg[/atsimg]
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/1a1a82ed0261.jpg[/atsimg]

The General Motors EV1 was an electric car produced and leased by the General Motors Corporation from 1996 to 1999.[1] It was the first mass-produced and purpose-designed electric vehicle of the modern era from a major automaker,

spot on there fuel prices in uk are sky high got rid of my 2 litre fast car for a 1 litre shed and
it still cost fifty quid to fill it up

reply to post by SLAYER69


Yeah, i agree. I saw the documentary about who killed the electric car - the real conspiracy here is actually why we are still so dependent on oil when there are *wiser* alternatives around (oil is pretty easy)

Personally i'm switching my car out with a 50cc moped. A car is becoming a luxury I have a hard time arguing for - I have 8 miles to work and i live alone. Without the car i can start saving up for other stuff instead of pouring my hard earned cash into the gas tank, while polluting more than i need to. I'm really growing sick of oil.

reply to post by K-Raz


Maybe something like this would work well for 8 miles:

www.evparts.com...

it is an electric bike however you still have some protection against the elements..

reply to post by Romanian


Nifty

I've looked at electric scooters, but i'm not keen on being an early adopter in the scandinavian climate. I have no idea how the battery packs will act during winter. I'd pick an electric engine over a gas one anyday due to the torque and sound, but i haven't really heard anything anecdotal about the battery performance during winter :-/

A bit more on topic: I think trams could make a comeback, and we could use the in-city parking lots for better things - The latter really takes up a lot of place in cities were it's already premium prices for land

It's all good we'll get there sooner or later.

The fact that this post doesn't have more stars and flags--and isn't on the front page is very telling.

I think everyone is missing the larger message here:

Remember that fear is the main process upon which we are being controlled. They (TPTB) will find and create disasters and excuses to gain control of the masses. Under the guise of global warming, they are hoping to ban all cars and private transport into the cities. First they invent a problem, then they find a solution---but the solution is most often a way to take away our rights and freedoms

Think this through very carefully.

Why would "they" want to take away your ability to drive into a city or town center? One good reason that comes to mind is the ability for people to protest. Look what recently happened in Egypt and what continues to happen in countries throughout the world. If your travel is restricted to places where power is centralized, they have more control.

The agenda of the NWO is moving swiftly forward. Since our only defense is to raise consciousness, the people of the world must get busy. It is one thing to post on ATS, but it's quite another to make your life purpose to teach and enlighten. How can we, as conscious and awake observers, effect change throughout the world?

I found more info on this directly from the EU website.

Plans for more efficient transport would connect Europe's road, rail, air and water networks, cut dependence on oil imports and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

A new European transport plan aims to increase mobility and further integrate the EU's transport networks - while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and the bloc's dependence on imported oil.

Measures to encourage major infrastructure investments, change the way freight moves and people travel would boost economic competitiveness and create jobs.

The plan - with goals to be met by 2050 - focuses on travel within cities and between cities, and on long distance journeys. It includes calls for:

cities to completely phase out petrol cars

shifting to rail or water 50% of all passenger and freight road transport currently making intercity journeys
of more than 300km

airlines to increase their use of sustainable low-carbon fuels to 40%

shipping to cut 40% off its carbon emissions.

Reaching these targets would help the EU achieve a 60% cut in greenhouse gases from all modes of transport by 2050.

Vision of an interconnected Europe

They've also posted a PDF with complete details of their plan.
European transport plan

Excellent thread and replies, hands down. Perhaps one should also note the regardless of the flags within this site, one should ask why hasn't this been blasted across the media outlets and as such would make all conflicts that are today's topics simply obsolete.

All in all, a good thread

I'm actually skeptical that the EU will last until 2050. But who knows, if business can be done by train in 40 years, then sure. But I'm guessing this is merely another suggestion by overpaid bureaucrats who are paid to be idiots.