German cities can now choose to ban diesel cars
Germany’s ruling court, located in Leipzig, has declared that cities can deploy their own legislation on diesel cars.
The country has committed to lowering carbon emissions from vehicles by allowing diesel to be banned on a local basis.
The ruling follows Germany’s bid to ban combustion engine vehicles by 2030.
It is anticipated that the Federal Administrative Court’s decision could affect 12mn German cars and Europe’s biggest car market.
The pronouncement specifically awarded the cities of Stuttgart and Düsseldorf, both are some of Germany’s highest polluted cities, to deploy bans that were previously introduced by lower courts.
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“It's really not about the entire country and all car owners,” reported Germany’s Chancellor, Angela Merkel.
“The court has not issued any driving bans but created clarity about the law,” stated Barbara Hendricks, the nation’s Environment Minister.
“Driving bans can be avoided, and my goal is and will remain that they do not come into force.”
The court case was originally introduced by Deutsche Unwelthilfe and ClientEarth.
The ruling was considered “an incredible result for people’s health”, stated Ugo Taddei, a lawyer for Client Earth, the Guardian reported.
“This ruling gives us legal clarity which we’ve long waited for, that diesel restrictions are legally permissible and will necessarily trigger a domino effect across the country, impacting as well on other legal cases,” he added.
