Ban on diesel engines remains a distant goal

The political debate on imposing a ban on diesel engines in German cities continues unabated after the state government in Baden-Württemberg was forced by the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure to withdraw a clean air plan, Josef Kelnberger, Michael Bauchmüller, and Frank Müller write in Süddeutsche Zeitung. The state government had aimed to ban diesel cars from Stuttgart’s city centre, but the transport ministry blocked the plan, saying such a move would be unlawful as it would create a new low-emission zone. The ministry instead supports retrofitting older diesel cars in order to meet emissions limits for nitrogen oxide and fine particulate matter. Environmental Action Germany (DUH) is campaigning to ban all diesel cars from entering Stuttgart.

Find the article in German here.

Read about the German auto industry’s role in the energy transition here.