170331_airvolution_700.jpg

Mayors from Seoul, Paris and London jointly launch the new Global Car Scoring System, a rating system to measure car emissions. Seoul Mayor Park Won Soon (left) speaks about the system with London Mayor Sadiq Khan (center) and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo during a press meeting at Paris City Hall on March 29.

Clean air is one of the most important necessities for a healthy life.

However, many people living in big cities have been overlooking this simple fact. Rather, they were enduring pain and poor health caused by smog. 

To assuage residents’ suffering and to make their lives healthier, mayors in Seoul, Paris and London have made a decision. 

The mayors of the three cities gathered at Paris City Hall on March 29 to launch a joint project to adopt a new Global Car Scoring System, a rating system that measures car emissions. 

The three cities decided to work together to reduce car emissions, as it's one of the most effective and quickest ways to clear the air. 

The system will measure and rate the amount of pollutants, including micro dust, nitrogen oxide, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide, emitted by different cars in the cities. The data will be published online and open for everyone to see. 

The C40 network of 90 large cities worldwide aims to tackle climate change and to work with this new rating system. Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo is currently the chair of the C40 and Seoul Mayor Park Won Soon and London Mayor Sadiq Khan are vice-chairs. 

The emissions data will be provided by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) and Emissions Analytics, a U.K. company that measures the actual emissions of all newly registered cars manufactured in the European Union. 

The Seoul Metropolitan Government will publish graphics of the data as soon as the scoring system is completed. Moreover, it will propose laws to oblige attaching emission scores to every vehicle. Also, city officials will consider applying scores to city vehicles and city buses before the final revisions are made. 

“A shared dream does come true,” said Mayor Park Won Soon. “This new policy with Paris and London will make an ‘air’volution’.” 

“When consumers are granted the right to buy eco-friendly products and the air gets cleaner, citizens will be able to live a healthier and more pleasant life,” Park said.