For the first time, one of Germany's famed motorways has been affected by a diesel ban. German cities have instituted or are bracing for bans on older diesel cars after violating European clean air laws for years.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/T. Eisenhuth
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A German court ruled on Thursday that authorities must ban older diesel vehicles from parts of the western German cities of Essen and Gelsenkirchen and a busy motorway in the country's industrial heartland.
Several German cities, including Hamburg, Frankfurt and Stuttgart, have put in place or are bracing for bans on older diesel vehicles that emit higher amounts of pollutants than later models. The bans follow a ruling by Germany's top administrative court in February that held such bans legal.
It's the first time that one of the country's famed autobahn highways has been affected. The court banned older diesel cars on sections of the heavily used A40 motorway, which runs through the Ruhr industrial region. The restrictions are expected to come into effect from July next year.
The Environment Ministry of North Rhine-Westphalia, the western state where the affected section of the motorway is located, said it plans to appeal the ruling.
Environmental groups have been suing local governments in German cities, which they say have been violating European clean air rules for years. The first diesel ban took effect in May in Hamburg.
Government to tweak law
The bans have hurt Germany's auto industry already reeling from the "Dieselgate" scandal.
Diesel car sales in Germany fell to 31.1 percent of the total in the first half of 2018 from 41.3 percent a year earlier.
In order to avoid more such bans, the German government has announced a series of measures including calling on automakers to offer generous trade-in rates to their customers to encourage them to buy new less-polluting cars.
On Thursday, the government agreed to tweak the existing law in order to spare cities that only slightly exceed limits on harmful nitrogen dioxide (NO2) from diesel vehicle bans.
Berlin wants to soften the threshold for implementing a ban from 40 to 50 micrograms per cubic meter. The decision has yet to be approved by parliament.
"The government is obviously in panic mode. Otherwise there would be no explanation for its rushing through an update to the law that infringes EU law in several ways," said Jürgen Resch, head of environmental pressure group DUH.
"We will secure the right to clean air in all cities in 2019; the courts will ignore the weakening of the thresholds," he added.
DUH plans to sue the federal government for breaking EU law if it presses ahead with the changes.
Cities around the world are seeking ways to reduce the scourge of smog. German cities are now allowed to ban diesel cars in city centers while other countries provide tempting offers to drivers who leave the car at home.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/A. Dedert
Too much traffic makes for bad air
Cities all over the world are fighting against smog. A German court has ruled that cities are allowed to impose driving bans. Many German cities — including Stuttgart, shown here — have developed an air pollution problem and are debating how best to approach the problem.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Murat
Oslo, where the diesel ban is reality
A diesel ban is imposed in the Norwegian capital whenever air pollution levels rise above a prescribed limit. The ban went into effect for the first time on January 17, 2017. Ambulances and other public service vehicles running on diesel are exempt from the measure. The city plans to reduce even more cars by eliminating municipal parking spaces in the center starting in 2019.
Image: Fotolia/nanisimova
Paris is also planning a diesel ban
Starting in 2024, the French capital will ban diesel vehicles; in 2030 it intends to expand the ban to gas-powered cars. Vehicles manufactured before 1997 are already prohibited in the city on weekdays. When air pollution levels exceed prescribed limits, Parisians have to follow a rotation system in which only cars with either even- or odd-numbered plates are allowed to be driven in the city.
Image: Reuters/C. Platiau
London has a congestion charge
If you want to drive into the center of London, a day's ride through the city will cost you 10 pounds ($13.80, €11.20). London introduced the congestion charge in 2003. Automatic number plate recognition is used to enforce the measures. Anyone who does not pay the fee faces a heavy fine of up to 240 pounds.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Copenhagen – the most bike-friendly city in the world
Copenhagen's mayor, Frank Jensen, wants to prevent new diesel cars from entering the city starting in 2019. Currently, over 300 kilometers of roads in the Danish capital can only be used by cyclists. With the new regulations, cycling will become easier, more convenient and cheaper than driving a car. About half of Copenhageners now cycle to work.
Image: picture-alliance/Hans Ringhofe
Pedestrian zones spreading in Madrid
Car-free zones like the square in front of Madrid's Teatro Real are set to become a common sight in the city. Almost the entire center of the Spanish capital will be turned into pedestrian zones in the next five years. Madrid has high smog levels, due to being surrounded by mountains, which cause bad air to get trapped in the city.
Helsinki offers a traffic app
Riding public transport will become even easier in the near future in Helsinki. In the next ten years, a mobility on demand system will be developed to include all forms of public transport in one app, including buses, self-driving cars and minibuses with flexible routes. The goal of the app is to be so good that no one will want to own a car.
Image: picture-alliance/Photoshot/Li Jizhi
Driving electric rickshaws in Delhi
Smog chokes Delhi and levels of air pollution regularly go off the scale. Electric rickshaws will hopefully alleviate the problem. By 2030, all new vehicles will be electrically powered and the city will phase out gas powered vehicles.
