Paris Pollution Alert Before Climate Conference

A pollution alert has been issued in Paris just weeks before the city hosts a global summit on greenhouse gases and climate change. The timing couldn’t be any more ironic and palpable as UN’s Climate Change Conference – deemed as the most important human rights gathering of the past half-century – is about to take place in the French capital.

Warm weather and a lack of wind have prompted the pollution alert for the Paris region. Levels of fine PM10 particulates are higher than the safe threshold of 50 micrograms per cubic metre. Drivers were asked to reduce their vehicle emissions with motorway speed limits cut by 20kph across the Ile-de-France for a week with residential parking being free as a measure to encourage motorists to leave their cars at home and instead use public transport. Also, Parisian officials have instituted traffic bans, which see alternate driving days for cars based on whether the registration plate ends with an odd or even number.

Police said they will be pulling over cars and checking whether they are fully compliant with their control technique and emission levels. There are many components for your exhaust to help go green, especially one called a ‘catalytic converter’, which is sure to lessen the amount of polluting elements from your car.

The air quality in the French capital has been so poor in recent years that one study compared breathing in the city’s pollution to ‘being stuck in a tiny room with eight smokers’. As a result, at-risk groups such as pregnant woman, young children, and people with asthma are advised to limit their physical activity.

Furthermore, US President Barack Obama recently gave an interview that summed up his thoughts on the conference. “I believe that when we get to Paris at the end of this year, we’re now in a position for the first time to have all countries recognize their responsibilities to tackle the problem, and to have a meaningful set of targets as well as the financing required to help poor countries adapt,” he stated.

It may seem ironic at first to hold the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference in a city which reported pollution levels with up to double those allowed by regulation. Nevertheless, the smoggy conditions may serve as constant and highly visible reminder for the delegates of the real impact of air pollution and therefore maybe put an extra effort into wrestling to an agreement – giving the world a brighter perspective for the next 20 years .