German cities have right to ban diesel cars, court rules
Decision may have wide-reaching consequences in Europe’s biggest auto market
Germany’s top administrative court has ruled that German cities have the right to ban diesel cars, in a move that could have far-reaching consequences for the owners of some 12m vehicles in Europe’s largest auto market.
The issue of diesel emissions has risen to the top of the political agenda ever since Volkswagen was found to have cheated on emissions tests in the US. Attention has been focused on diesel emissions of nitrogen oxide (NOx) which can cause respiratory disease. Some 70 German cities have NOx levels which exceed EU limits.
The case originated in a suit by the environmental group DUH, which had taken the cities of Stuttgart and Düsseldorf to court to force them to implement driving bans. After the states of Baden-Wuerttemberg and North Rhine-Westphalia appealed against the bans, the case was referred to the federal administrative court in Leipzig, which today ruled they were legal.