At the same time with news of Germany’s Federal Administrative Court giving cities power to ban the access of diesel cars in city centers, Virginia Raggi, mayor of Italian capital city Rome, announced the same decision.
In a post on the mayor’s Facebook page, Raggi says that “Rome has decided to ban the use of private diesel vehicles from its historical center from 2024.” The post is a reiteration of her commitment made at the Women4Climate conference in Mexico City held this week.
According to The Guardian, two out of three cars sold last year on the Italian peninsula were diesel-powered, making the Rome’s decision, which will likely attract similar decision from other cities as well, a hard blow for Italian drivers.
There is, however, reason to believe the announcement will not create much debate among Italians. Rome already has in place other means meant to deter polluting cars from driving freely.
The city tried to do so by allowing cars to take to the roads on alternate days, depending on their license number being odd or even, but the regulation is not all that strict, nor is it heavily enforced by police.
As for Germany, its decision will also not see effects taking hold anytime soon. The ban on diesel cars is not a ban per se, but merely gives local authorities the power to ban diesel cars from city centers, should they choose to do so.
In Germany, over 70 percent of pollution in cities are blamed on diesel. According to data compiled by the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA), out of the total car registrations in 2016, 45.8 percent were diesel.
Paris, Madrid, and Athens also said they would implement the same decision by 2025, although neither country detailed what emission standards would the cars have to meet to escape the ban.
In a post on the mayor’s Facebook page, Raggi says that “Rome has decided to ban the use of private diesel vehicles from its historical center from 2024.” The post is a reiteration of her commitment made at the Women4Climate conference in Mexico City held this week.
According to The Guardian, two out of three cars sold last year on the Italian peninsula were diesel-powered, making the Rome’s decision, which will likely attract similar decision from other cities as well, a hard blow for Italian drivers.
There is, however, reason to believe the announcement will not create much debate among Italians. Rome already has in place other means meant to deter polluting cars from driving freely.
The city tried to do so by allowing cars to take to the roads on alternate days, depending on their license number being odd or even, but the regulation is not all that strict, nor is it heavily enforced by police.
As for Germany, its decision will also not see effects taking hold anytime soon. The ban on diesel cars is not a ban per se, but merely gives local authorities the power to ban diesel cars from city centers, should they choose to do so.
In Germany, over 70 percent of pollution in cities are blamed on diesel. According to data compiled by the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA), out of the total car registrations in 2016, 45.8 percent were diesel.
Paris, Madrid, and Athens also said they would implement the same decision by 2025, although neither country detailed what emission standards would the cars have to meet to escape the ban.