Attention, truck drivers! Due to a public holiday in Italy, there are some changes this week that you should be aware of. The Federal Ministry for Climate Protection is taking measures to regulate heavy goods traffic in Tyrol with driving bans and closures. So be prepared to exercise patience once again!
Imagine driving along a scenic road on a sunny day and feeling the wind in your hair. Suddenly a car swerves into your lane and you have no time to react. Accidents of this kind happen frequently, and each one is a tragedy for those involved. However, new regulations requiring the installation of black boxes in all new cars in Germany are intended to prevent or minimise the damage caused by accidents. But what if the black boxes could also be used in the future to monitor emissions data and enforce environmental zones and driving bans?
Munich may not implement the second stage of its diesel driving ban due to improved air quality. The first stage, which came into force on 1 February, banned Euro 4 diesel vehicles from the Mittlerer Ring. The ban aims to reduce nitrogen dioxide levels and further driving bans are planned if levels do not improve. However, the readings in Landshuter Allee have improved significantly, so there is hope that further driving bans will not be necessary.
From 2035, new combustion vehicles will be banned in Europe and only new electric vehicles will be allowed. In many cities, however, these will already be banned in the environmental zones before then. How will the millions of e-cars be charged in the confined urban areas? In Antwerp (Belgium), e-cars can already be charged flexibly at mobile charging stations. Now the service could soon be expanded and find space in other major cities in Europe.
This is the conclusion of the Federal Environment Agency (UBA) - concerned that wood-burning stoves and fireplaces release too much particulate matter during operation. According to a draft law of the Federal Cabinet, heating with wood could be permitted only on a restricted basis in the future.
Fewer cars, more space for public transport and walking and cycling - this is Frankfurt's master plan to achieve the city's climate goals and become climate neutral by 2035. Above all, an expanded electric bus line and the promotion of green forms of mobility are to play an important role in this. Will cars be completely banned from the environmental zone?
Air quality is improving and cities are responding by removing emission-reducing driving bans. But even where no low-emission zones regulate traffic, instruments to protect the environment could soon be decommissioned. Kiel is reviewing plans to remove the air filter at the Theodor-Heus-Ring.
The mobility revolution is soon to reach the German military as well. Thanks to hydrogen and, in part, electric drives, the Bundeswehr is also to become climate-neutral over the next 20 years. The German government wants to reduce climate-damaging emissions in every sector in order to achieve the climate goals.
Because the air became cleaner, eight cities in Baden-Württemberg already abolished the environmental zone regulations that had been in force for years in 2023. Wendlingen am Neckar, Schwäbisch Gmünd, Ilsfeld and Urbach will now also no longer have low emission zones from this May - yet more German cities planning to abolish them. Are the authorities acting prematurely? Will Germany be able to meet its 2023 climate targets even without the emission-reducing contribution of low emission zones?
Although climate targets and advancing climate change repeatedly show the importance of introducing measures such as emission-related driving bans and environmental zones, a wave of discontent with anti-car measures is increasingly spreading in Europe. Especially in England and France, riots often break out - while some German cities simply repeal the green regulations. What are the future prospects for environmental zones?
