Diesel plaintiff DUH sceptical of government efforts ahead of crucial verdict

NGO Environmental Action Germany (DUH) says it’s sceptical of government efforts to prevent driving bans on diesel cars in inner cities, as well as a lawsuit by the European Union over excessive air pollution. With a crucial verdict by Germany’s Federal Administrative Court over whether diesel driving bans in German cities are legally admissible looming on 22 February, the DUH says it is “curious to see” what the court will decide. The DUH, which set the ball rolling on driving bans by launching legal proceedings in the city of Stuttgart, says its cause received “tailwind” from the European Commission. German Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks was summoned to Brussels to present measures against air pollution, resulting in a vague announcement that free public transport could be offered in several German cities, which DUH says the government itself later admitted was nothing but “hot air.” The DUH says clean air will only be achieved if diesel cars “are resolutely locked out of inner cities,” as they account for up to 80 percent of nitrogen oxide (NOx) pollution.
In a separate press release, DUH head Jürgen Resch says reports of a government advisory committee recommending that diesel retrofitting should be paid for from the federal budget are “a hoax.” There was no consensus on this matter among the committee’s members, and taxpayers “already pay enough with their health” for car industry fraud, the press release says.

Find the press release in German here.

See CLEW’s dieselgate timeline and the CLEW article German cities might test free public transport to cut pollution for background.