The future of the automobile lies in alternative drive systems. They should not only contribute to climate protection, but also make the air in cities cleaner. But since the vehicles are usually much heavier than conventional combustion engines, they produce more and more particulate matter. So the air in the cities could get worse again - and there could be new environmental zones.
Despite high diesel prices, the vehicles remain enormously popular. Although the new car market is changing dramatically and offering fewer and fewer diesel vehicles, they are still booming on the used car market. Even driving bans that have already been announced do not seem to be a deterrent. Perhaps only bans and heavy fines will bring about a real change in consumer attitudes.
With just a few adjustments, emissions from shipping can be reduced by 2030. A recent study shows that by taking precautions to save energy and increasing the use of alternative forms of propulsion, such as hydrogen, emissions can be cut by almost half.
Cars are increasingly encountering driving bans and electromobility is gaining acceptance as a sustainable form of future mobility. Could environmental zones, which reduce and prevent local emissions, then lose their significance? Unlikely, as engine exhausts are not the only factors that harm the environment in connection with cars.
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Tighter and new low emission zone rules, car-free Sundays and traffic-free roads for summertime. This month, the mobility world will again give space to green measures - in Scotland, France and Germany. But some cities are taking a step backwards - such as Berlin, where Friedrichstrasse will be reopened to car traffic. Green-Zones® lists the new low emission zone regulations and driving bans for June.
Engine exhaust is not the only source of environmental and air pollution in transport. Non-exhaust emissions such as so-called brake and tyre abrasion are also causing concern - and have the European Union and the car industry looking for more sustainable solutions. The Euro7 emissions standard planned for 2025 is soon to regulate particulate and microplastic emissions from pneumatics - and ensure that even cars with clean engines can keep polluting emissions from tyres and brakes under control. But the EU's plans have been sharply criticised.
E-fuels are increasingly being considered in the context of the transport transition - for example, as part of the strategy to make the internal combustion engines still in circulation after 2035 more sustainable. But what impact do they actually have on air quality and climate? And what would their approach mean for the environment and climate-protecting transport measures after the end of the combustion engine?
Not an isolated phenomenon - More than 8 million cars are at least indirectly involved in the use of illegal defeat devices to manipulate exhaust emissions. This is the result of a recent ICCT study that was able to analyse the actual emissions of numerous vehicles on the road. So what does this development in the diesel scandal mean for the car market and for national and international environmental and transport policy? Will we soon see - in Germany and the rest of Europe - extended environmental zones and stricter driving bans for all affected diesel classes?
The development of intermodal freight transport, key to the transport turnaround in the logistics sector, is being held back by regulatory and technical hurdles. EU Court of Auditors criticises the lack of a centralised plan for expansion and promotion. What does the EU want to do now to make freight transport more sustainable?
