German cities can ban diesel cars
Ruling could have costly implications
BERLIN — Handing environmentalists a landmark victory, a German court ruled Tuesday that cities can ban diesel cars and trucks to combat air pollution, a decision with far-reaching and costly implications in the country where the diesel engine was invented in the 1890s.
The ruling by the Federal Administrative Court stirred fears from motorists, auto dealers and other businesses worried about the financial impact, especially as this comes three years after the country’s auto industry was found to have lied about the pollution levels emitted by its cherished diesel technology. And Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government scrambled to reassure drivers it would seek to prevent such drastic measures by pushing other ways to reduce urban pollution.
Diesel automobiles are a popular alternative to gasoline-powered ones in Germany, with about 9 million diesel cars and several million trucks, buses and other vehicles affected by the ruling.
Overall, 1 in 3 passenger cars in Germany, home to such automakers as Daimler, Volkswagen and BMW, are diesel-powered, although the cleanest, most modern models would probably still be allowed even if cities decided on a ban.
Frustrated with the lack of progress in improving air quality in about 70 of the country’s most polluted cities, Deutsche Umwelthilfe — or Environmental Action Germany — brought lawsuits against local governments, demanding that they uphold the air quality standards set by the European Union.
The judges’ decision that puts the future of diesel cars in Germany in question is a blueprint for more than fifty other municipalities that also struggle with regulation-busting pollution levels of nitrogen dioxide.
“It’s a great day for clean air in Germany,” said Juergen Resch, head of Environmental Action Germany, which had sued dozens of German cities for failing to meet legally binding emissions limits.
While diesel cars produce less carbon dioxide and tend to get better mileage than gas-powered vehicles, they emit higher levels of nitrogen oxides, or NOx, contributing to respiratory illnesses and 6,000 deaths annually, according to government figures.
Two German states had appealed lower court decisions that suggested bans on particularly dirty diesel cars would be effective. Germany’s highest administrative court rejected that appeal Tuesday, effectively instructing two cities at the center of the case — Stuttgart and Duesseldorf — to consider bans as part of their clean air plans.
“Bans are generally permissible and can be implemented in a way to avoid disproportionate effects,” Presiding Judge Andreas Korbmacher said Tuesday. “European Union rules require that cities must be implement them if there are no other effective measures to reduce pollution.”
What comes next is an open question.
It’s not clear whether cities will actually move to ban diesels. And if they do so, it remains to be seen whether automakers will be forced to upgrade exhaust and software systems or buy back vehicles; if the government will offer consumers incentives; or if owners will be left on their own, forced to bear the costs.