Frankfurt must introduce diesel ban

Exhaust gases leave the exhaust pipe of a car in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. (AP Photo/Michael Probst, file)

The German city of Frankfurt must introduce a ban on diesel vehicles in order to improve air quality a German court has settled.

 

The judgment in a court in Wiesbaden was arrived at on Wednesday after the environmental group, Deutsche Umwelthilfe had gone to court. The group felt Frankfurt am Main did not meet the EU environmental requirements.

It is not immediately clear how many vehicles are affected or how widely the ban will hit.

On May 31st, Hamburg introduced, as the first German city, diesel bans to improve air quality. The bans applied only to parts of the city and particularly affected old vehicles, but all diesel vehicles that do not meet the ‘Euro 6’ requirements are covered.

The authorities in Stuttgart are planning to ban old diesel vehicles from parts of the city next year.

Pollution from diesel has become a hot topic in Germany, especially after it was revealed that the German car giant, Volkswagen, had installed software in diesel cars so that they appeared as more environmentally friendly than they really were.

 

© NTB scanpix / #Norway Today