[Tribune] Low emission zones: a useful and welcome relaxation

On Christmas Eve, the Official Gazette published the decree of the President of the Government modifying the rules for the establishment of Mobility Low Emission Zones (ZFE-m). Is it really a gift placed at the foot of the tree of the metropolises and the French?

A social challenge for public authorities

Last March, the Observatory of Low Emission Zones of the CSA Institute

revealed a profound social challenge. In fact, 8 out of 10 vehicles affected by ZFE-m travel regularly to the affected agglomerations. 36% of the owners of vehicles prohibited by a ZFE-m state that they have no budget to replace their vehicle! Worse yet, 14% of all affected French people say they will continue to use their current vehicle in the ZFE-m, knowing that they risk a fine of 68 euros per infringement… Sanctions are therefore not the solution.

Despite the difficulties of adaptation, the French do not seem resistant to ZFE-m, even if their vehicle will be banned no later than December 31, 2024. Thus, 54% of the French affected are in favor of the Zone system Low Emissions. This is only 3 points less than the total French population! Ecological awareness is proving to be a fundamental trend.

It is clear that Low Emission Zones are intended to reduce air pollution, in particular the pollutants emitted by vehicles: nitrogen dioxide, PM10 and PM2.5 fine particles. However, some cities have already reached the thresholds set by France and the European Union for air pollution. So should we uniformly introduce the same traffic restrictions within 42 metropolises with different levels of air quality?

What alternative to the ZFE-m device?

The Prime Minister’s decree makes it possible to avoid the establishment of a ZFE-m if “the average annual concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) are less than or equal to 10 μg/m3”.

First of all, nitrogen dioxide is one of the main pollutants harmful to human health. The target threshold for nitrogen dioxide set by the European Union and France is 40 μg/m3. The threshold of 10 μg/m3 is a recommendation of the World Health Organization (WHO). Consequently, the exemption criterion chosen by the government is ambitious both in terms of reducing pollution and protecting the health of the French.

Then, the metropolis can be exempted from the implementation of the ZFE-m if “all the fixed stations for measuring the air quality of the agglomeration” are below this threshold. Consulting the site of the European Environment Agency, it is possible to know the average value of NO2 for each of the measurement stations in the European Union.

France is among the countries with the most cities below the WHO threshold. First of all, the metropolis of Saint-Nazaire has all its stations averaging less than 10 μg/m3 during the year 2021! Then the metropolises of Angers, Brest, La Rochelle, Le Mans, Orleans, Pau, Poitiers and Tours have one station below the threshold, the others slightly above it. For these localities, the objective seems achievable with a concrete action plan validated by simulations of the impact on air quality. The validation of the prefect will then be necessary.

Unfortunately, some cities will not be able to achieve this without drastic measures, perhaps even more drastic than ZFE-m with the ban on the circulation of Crit’Air 5, 4 and 3 vehicles: Bordeaux, Grenoble, Montpellier, Toulon, Toulouse, Rouen and Strasbourg have at least one measurement station 3 times above the threshold; Lyon and Marseille each have one station above 40 μg/m3; and the metropolis of Greater Paris has 2 stations at more than 50 and others at 40 μg/m3.

In conclusion, the new standard introduced by the decree of December 23, 2022 would allow about ten cities to meet the nitrogen dioxide threshold, without establishing a ZFE-m. For the other metropolises, the efforts remain considerable…

However, the problem remains unresolved for millions of French people who will not be able to adapt to authorized Crit’Air in their metropolis. The thorniest example remains the Greater Metropolis of Paris, where pollution levels are high and the financial means of many Ile-de-France residents are inadequate to change vehicles.

In the case of internment for several years, a scrapping premium of 4,000 euros, to get rid of a Crit’Air 4 or 5 vehicle, would help the most vulnerable households to purchase a second-hand Crit’Air 1 vehicle. To improve air quality, it is necessary to permanently remove the most polluting vehicles.

Franck Cazenave, mobility expert and author of the book “The robomobile – A new right to sustainable and inclusive mobility”, at Descartes & Cie