The city of Stuttgart could implement a diesel ban in less than six months after a judge ruled that the local government’s draft air quality plan wouldn’t be tough enough to tackle illegal levels of pollution.

Stuttgart’s government must rewrite its Air Quality Plan to tackle air pollution.

Although the draft plans, put together following legal action launched by environmental lawyers ClientEarth and German charity Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH), suggested measures including a ‘peak pollution’ diesel ban and retrofitting Euro 5 diesel vehicles, the judge agreed with the charities that the actions would be insufficient and instead ruled that a diesel ban be implemented in the city from January 2018, in line with similar rulings in Dusseldorf and Munich.

The judgment means Stuttgart’s government must rewrite its Air Quality Plan, with ClientEarth clean air lawyer Ugo Taddei commenting: “Stuttgart’s authorities must now find rapid and effective ways to solve the region’s air quality issues. This should include a more structured approach that acknowledges the emissions issues with diesel vehicles – it must also not put undue confidence in what retrofitting can achieve.”