The capital of Sweden is planning to ban diesel-powered and petrol cars from major parts of the city center by 2025, making Stockholm the first Swedish city to feature a class-three environmental zone. This comes as part of an effort to improve the air quality and reduce traffic noise in the region, said Stockholm’s vice mayor for Transport on October 10.

According to Reuters, the plan will create a class-three environmental zone, where only electric, fuel cell and natural-gas-powered vehicles are allowed, across 20 blocks of Stockholm’s inner city.

Some exceptions will be made for bigger vans. Other vehicles that will be exempt from the new regulation include ambulances and police cars as well as automobiles driven by a person, or someone supporting a passenger, with a disability.

The Green Party, which is a part of the Stockholm City Council’s ruling coalition, said the initiative will lead to an increase in the adoption of electric vehicles.

"Nowadays, the air in Stockholm causes babies to have lung conditions and the elderly to die prematurely,” said the Green Party’s vice mayor for Transport, Lars Stromgren, in a statement. “It is a completely unacceptable situation.”

The Green Party is planning to further expand the environmental zone following its introduction in 2025.