Lowering car emissions – Germany to ban diesels!

The Leipzig Regional Administrative Court ruled that German cities can ban older diesel cars with high emissions. The ban affects diesel cars up to ecological standard of Euro 6.

The Federal court’s decision was made on appeal against the decision taken by the provincial courts in Stuttgart and Dusseldorf last year to ban the diesels manufactured before 2015. Mandatory changes are to be made on diesel engines that have Euro 4 (from 2005 to 2009) and Euro 5 standards (from 2009 to 2015) to meet the current eco-standards. Diesel engines manufactured before 2005 were already virtually eliminated in German cities due to the increased emissions. It is estimated that there are more than 12 million such cars in Germany.

This decision of the Federal court has legal effect throughout Germany and each city will be able to ban diesel cars in its urban areas, depending on the air pollution levels in their region. For now, excessive emissions of N2O and carbon, which are the main issues with diesel cars, have been measured in 60 German cities including Munich, the largest German city that joined the cause for diesel ban.