Germany May Allow Cities to Ban Older Diesels

The German government is preparing a new ordinance that would allow the country’s cities to improve local air quality by imposing bans on older, high-polluting diesel cars and trucks.

The ruling would target diesels that don’t meet Euro 6 emission limits, according to Bloomberg News. The standard, which took effect last year, caps output of nitrogen oxides at 80 milligrams per kilometer compared with 180 mg/km under Euro 5 rules and 250 mg/km under Euro 4 limits.

The proposed measure was inspired primarily by mounting evidence that diesels which conform to emission standards in laboratory tests may emit many times the allowable NOx limit in real-life use.

About 50% of new vehicles sold in Germany today are diesel powered. VDA, the country’s auto industry association, estimates that turnover over the next five years will replace half the 14 million diesels currently on the country’s roads with cleaner diesels.

Deputy Environment Minister Jochen Flasbarth says the new law is necessary until electric vehicles become more popular in cities and “diesel emissions really are what carmakers say they are: cleaner.”

But in an e-mailed retort, VDA tells Bloomberg “it would be a fundamental mistake to badmouth diesels” and declares, “whoever supports climate protection can’t forgo diesels.”