Germany’s highest administrative court upheld lower court rulings that cities and towns can be forced to ban diesel vehicles to comply with European Union clean air standards for nitrous oxide emissions, which are blamed for some 75,000 German deaths a year.
In 2017, 66 German cities failed to meet the E.U.’s standards. The ruling itself doesn’t impose bans, but allows them as a last resort if other methods don’t bring emissions into compliance.
“Successive German governments have incentivized the sale of diesel vehicles, which were long thought to be a better environmental choice than gasoline-powered cars because, although they produce more smog and soot, they emit less heat-trapping carbon.
“Despite the ruling, the German automobile club ADC said in a statement that it does not expect cities across Germany to implement sweeping bans on diesel cars. Instead, it advocates hardware fixes and a more ‘comprehensive solution’ for attaining cleaner air.”
Read the article at The Washington Post
