2018 diesel car ban on the cards for Stuttgart

By / 7 years ago / News / No Comments

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.

The letter calls for the most polluting diesel vehicles to be withdrawn from service.

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.”

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Natalie Middleton

Natalie has worked as a fleet journalist for nearly 20 years, previously as assistant editor on the former Company Car magazine before joining Fleet World in 2006. Prior to this, she worked on a range of B2B titles, including Insurance Age and Insurance Day. Natalie edits all the Fleet World websites and newsletters, and loves to hear about any latest industry news - or gossip.