Photo: SafetyKore.com
Arrivederci, au revoir, adios, antio. Germany, Italy, France, Spain, Mexico, Greece. These are the countries that have announced, so far, plans to ban to some extent or another the access of diesel-powered cars in their cities’ centers. But is it really a ban? Is it a plan, for that matter?
As recently as this past week, Germany, through the Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig, issued a ruling saying that from now on it is legal for the country’s local authorities to ban diesel cars’ access here and there. By far, Germany’s decision is the one to have the biggest impact of them all because, truth be told, the Germans rule Europe (and they didn’t even need a war for that).
But does this ruling constitute, in effect, a ban on diesel cars?
The decision came as a result of a suit filed by the Environmental Action Germany (DUH), an environmental group (among others) that believed authorities in the two cities aren’t doing a good enough job to combat emissions. And the best way to do that, says the group, is by banning the use of diesel cars. The cities disagreed, the whole thing went to court, where the cities lost. Or did they?
First off, the court’s decision, although applicable to all the cities in the country, only targets directly two regions: Stuttgart and Dusseldorf, places where air pollution is already at the maximum allowable levels.
Secondly, It doesn’t ban diesel cars per se. They can still be manufactured, sold and bought at will. They can be driven up and down any road, at no matter what rpm.
What the decision says is that some diesel cars will no longer be permitted to enter some city center areas, should local authorities find it useful to support such an idea, preferably after some or other eco-group asks them to.
The court itself says the ban, if no other way is found to reduce emission, must come as a “proportionate measure.” What that means is unclear, but leaves authorities enough room to dodge bullets.
Secondly, Angela Merkel’s government is not thrilled about the decision either. After all, Germany’s automotive industry is the country’s (and the continent’s) largest, having generated a massive 404 billion euros turnover in 2015. So, should an alternate solution be found to avoid banning diesel cars, the government would be more than glad to embrace it.
Word in the industry is that the Federal Court’s decision hindered the chancellor’s plans to put in place a controlled-type of ban on diesel cars, one that would not hurt the industry all that much. One such plan envisions so-called blue badges to be provided for cleaner diesel cars, in effect making them immune to local driving bans.
The whole blame-it-on-the-diesel-and-ban-them rhetoric is not even new. Greece, a country which now brags about enforcing a ban on diesel starting 2025, had such a rule in place in Athens and Thessaloniki up until 2011. Hit by economic and debt crisis (from which the country emerged only with German help), the Greeks changed their minds and suspended the ban, so that they can save the local auto market.
We will probably look back, years from now, and see that all of these days’ talk on the subject didn’t amount to much. Because let’s ask the obvious questions (Germany excluded): if diesel cars are all that bad (and we don’t say they aren’t), why wait another 7 years to ban their access here and there? Why don’t cities like Rome, Athens, Paris or Mexico city pull the plug on that now? Or in a year, or so?
One could guess all the diesel-ban talk is a smoke screen, designed to make Europeans and not only them believe that something is being done to make the air cleaner. By 2025, automakers will probably make diesel much greener than they are now. And there will not be a need for any diesel-ban to come into effect.
But does this ruling constitute, in effect, a ban on diesel cars?
The decision came as a result of a suit filed by the Environmental Action Germany (DUH), an environmental group (among others) that believed authorities in the two cities aren’t doing a good enough job to combat emissions. And the best way to do that, says the group, is by banning the use of diesel cars. The cities disagreed, the whole thing went to court, where the cities lost. Or did they?
First off, the court’s decision, although applicable to all the cities in the country, only targets directly two regions: Stuttgart and Dusseldorf, places where air pollution is already at the maximum allowable levels.
Secondly, It doesn’t ban diesel cars per se. They can still be manufactured, sold and bought at will. They can be driven up and down any road, at no matter what rpm.
What the decision says is that some diesel cars will no longer be permitted to enter some city center areas, should local authorities find it useful to support such an idea, preferably after some or other eco-group asks them to.
The court itself says the ban, if no other way is found to reduce emission, must come as a “proportionate measure.” What that means is unclear, but leaves authorities enough room to dodge bullets.
Secondly, Angela Merkel’s government is not thrilled about the decision either. After all, Germany’s automotive industry is the country’s (and the continent’s) largest, having generated a massive 404 billion euros turnover in 2015. So, should an alternate solution be found to avoid banning diesel cars, the government would be more than glad to embrace it.
Word in the industry is that the Federal Court’s decision hindered the chancellor’s plans to put in place a controlled-type of ban on diesel cars, one that would not hurt the industry all that much. One such plan envisions so-called blue badges to be provided for cleaner diesel cars, in effect making them immune to local driving bans.
The whole blame-it-on-the-diesel-and-ban-them rhetoric is not even new. Greece, a country which now brags about enforcing a ban on diesel starting 2025, had such a rule in place in Athens and Thessaloniki up until 2011. Hit by economic and debt crisis (from which the country emerged only with German help), the Greeks changed their minds and suspended the ban, so that they can save the local auto market.
We will probably look back, years from now, and see that all of these days’ talk on the subject didn’t amount to much. Because let’s ask the obvious questions (Germany excluded): if diesel cars are all that bad (and we don’t say they aren’t), why wait another 7 years to ban their access here and there? Why don’t cities like Rome, Athens, Paris or Mexico city pull the plug on that now? Or in a year, or so?
One could guess all the diesel-ban talk is a smoke screen, designed to make Europeans and not only them believe that something is being done to make the air cleaner. By 2025, automakers will probably make diesel much greener than they are now. And there will not be a need for any diesel-ban to come into effect.
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