2021
Environmental zones as lifesavers
About 400,000 people in Europe die every year as a result of air pollution. Environmental zones are already helping to make the air cleaner. But the limits set by the World Health Organisation are still far from being met.
Air pollution remains high
Air pollutants have decreased less than initially estimated due to the Corona pandemic. Favourable weather conditions also played a role. This year, therefore, an increase is very likely and could spur driving bans again.
Corona supports diesel driving bans
The pandemic is also hitting the automotive industry hard. Filter systems for old diesel vehicles could not be installed last year as planned. So the dirty diesel vehicles continue to contribute to bad air and make diesel driving bans inevitable.
Paris relies on video surveillance
Controls in the Paris Low Emission Zone are to be automated this year. Drivers who enter the Paris metropolitan area with an unauthorised sticker can then be identified and penalised by camera systems.
Saudi Arabia plans 170 km long environmental zone
A green city of millions is to be built on the Red Sea, where there are no conventional roads and cars are completely banned. The project is controversial, but it could be a blueprint for the mobility revolution in large cities in Europe as well.
Hypocritical capital: Berlin relies on dirty diesel buses
The city is getting 291 new buses. All of them run on diesel engines. This contradicts the promise of the Green Senator for the Environment to ban all internal combustion vehicles from the city by 2030.
Cleaner air through driving
A new technology could soon use cars as mobile air filters. These would clean the city air while driving and could thus prevent impending diesel driving bans.
Eco-lanes en masse
The French bus and taxi lanes are to be opened to all electric motorbikes in future. The aim is to encourage more people to buy electric vehicles.
The end of plug-in hybrids is approaching
High subsidies for plug-in hybrids will soon only be available for vehicles that can drive at least 60 km in pure electric mode. This could mean an end to the hype surrounding these vehicles in Germany.
Stuttgart: Diesel driving bans on the brink of extinction?
Last year, nitrogen oxide levels in the Neckar valley remained below the limit value for the first time. The plaintiffs, who have been campaigning for better air for years, see this as only a partial success, however. The readings could, however, have an impact on driving bans in the city.