Euronews.green writes that vehicles in Europe that can make their way through a low-emissions zone must have a brightly-colored vignette, which proves that the car releases a low-amount of greenhouse gases, which poses little to no threat to the locals.

These low-emissions zones have become important in Europe since 97% of Europeans that live in a city are exposed to levels of pollution which surpass the safe limits imposed by the World Health Organization. Over 300.000 premature deaths are caused by air pollution in Europe and low air quality is responsible for 20-25% of cardiovascular-related deaths, as well as 10% of lung cancer cases.

The first air quality directive to tackle poor air quality was introduced in Europe back in 1980 and since, multiple other laws and revisions toughened pollution limits.

Spain is one of Europe's countries where low-emissions zones have been taken so seriously that in 2021, a law has been pass which states that for every city with a population of over 50.000, at least one such area must be introduced.

Still, there are citizens not pleased with the decision, just like it is the case for some urban settlements in Belgium and Germany, where some people believe that the fines will hit the poorest the hardest.

But low emissions zones work and that's a fact, as just in London alone, these areas helped reduce NO2 levels by 32 micrograms per cubic meter (36%), as well as traffic by 9% and CO2 levels by 13%.