German Court Permits Ban on Diesel Vehicles in Large Cities

We are moving, slowly but surely, towards a future in which we will be completely dependent on renewable energy. This means cutting down, bit by bit, on our usage of fossil fuels, which pollute and damage the environment, until we can get rid of them completely. After the Paris Deal was signed in 2015, everyone started announcing ambitious targets for carbon emissions, some of which look more likely to be met that others. All this has been well and good, but one country has just completely changed the game.
Less than a fortnight ago, a court in Germany ruled in favour of an initiative by the country that will allow large cities to prohibit diesel cars. Diesel cars are some of the worst culprits when it comes to air pollution and the ban on their entering big cities in Germany will no doubt have a huge impact on air quality there.
This historic ruling came from the highest federal administrative court in Germany and is expected to hit the automotive industry hard. It is also going to be a blow to Angela Merkel’s government, which is staunchly positioned against bans. This is likely to embarrass the government, which was also a strong supporter of the car sector.
The decision to allow bans on diesel cars comes in the wake of appeals that were made by the cities of Stuttgart and Dusseldorf – two of the most badly polluted cities in the entire country. The cities were challenging the bans that were imposed upon them by the courts. These bans stemmed from challenges brought forward by a German activist environmental group called Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH) – German Environment Help in English. The challenges were launched due to Germany’s increasingly poor air quality.
The appeals were rejects by the state governments, which ordered the cities in question to change their anti-pollution plans. They were told that city bans can be implemented even without nationwide rules.
The managing director of DUH, Juergen Resch, has celebrated the court’s decision by announcing that it was a great day for clean air in Germany.
The knock on effects of this ruling remain to be seen but there is little doubt as to the chaos it is likely to cause in the automotive industry. However, this is balanced out with the dramatic effects it is going to have on traffic levels in big cities as well as a notable improvement in air quality.
While this is just one of the first steps for Germany towards the world’s ultimate goal, the ability to ban diesel cars is hugely significant. It is hoped that other countries follow suit and that we can eventually bid farewell to the diesel car for good.