Most of the road sections are in the city center, including the busiest downtown main road, Leipziger Strass, and one of the most famous shopping streets in Berlin, the Friedrichstrasse.
In order to meet air purity requirements, the use of vehicles with diesel engines with a lower environmental rating than Euro 6 should be limited in Berlin, according to a non-final decision of the German Capital City Administrative Court on Tuesday.
The management of a provincial city must prohibit, on 11 road sections, cars and other vehicles with diesel engines older than Euro 6, and, on a further 15 roads, examine whether a ban is required to comply with the 40 milligram limit for nitrogen oxide per barometer.
Therefore, the Air Quality Plan should be revised by 31 March 2019 at the latest, and the new rules should be introduced at the earliest after two months and at the latest three months, according to a statement by the Landesgericht Berlin that they can be banned between May and the end of June 2019 older diesel cars.
Most of the road sections are in the city center, including the busiest downtown main road, Leipziger Strass, and one of the most famous shopping streets in Berlin, the Friedrichstrasse.
The court ordered a restriction on the use of diesel cars in proceedings initiated by an environmental NGO called Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH). The decision is not final, the city administration may appeal against it to the Provincial Administrative Court.
In Berlin, about 220,000 diesel vehicles are in circulation that operate with engines with an environmental rating lower than Euro 6. In addition, commercial vehicles with engines below the Euro 6 level and vehicles not placed on the market in Berlin would also be subject to use restrictions.
DUH strives to reach a limit of more than a dozen German cities, arguing that nitrogen oxide pollution, mainly due to the operation of diesel engines, exceeds the limit set in air quality standards. Through its activities, the Federal Administrative Court ruled in February this year that local authorities may restrict the use of diesel vehicles to meet the requirements of the European Union.
In the meantime, older diesel vehicles have been banned in Hamburg from two road sections, with restrictions being introduced next year in Stuttgart and Frankfurt. The process may affect millions of owners in Germany, the value of their vehicles may be reduced due to the possibility of restricting their use. The federal government is trying to resolve the issue, known as the diesel crisis, by avoiding restrictions on use. According to a plan announced at the beginning of October, owners of German, Euro 4 and Euro 5 diesel cars can buy a new car at a discounted price. The owners of Euro 5 class cars can also choose to convert if the vehicle is suitable for the installation of a so-called SCR-catalytic converter.
For the time being, the program covers the 14 most polluted airfields and surrounding areas, Berlin is not among them.
The German government, in its action plan for reducing air pollution today, is pushing the car manufacturers to provide incentives to owners to replace and retrofit old diesel vehicles.
(Source: vezess.hu / photo: pixabay.com)