No more low emission zones in German cities?

In Germany, a few driving bans are off the table for now this year: in Frankfurt am Main, the planned diesel driving bans will not be introduced. This is because, for the second year in a row, the air has improved and the level of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is now below the limit of 40 micrograms as an annual average, which applies throughout Germany. But now there is no longer any reason for driving bans, as the limit value has not been exceeded at any of the neuralgic points. Even in the heavily polluted Mainzer Landstrasse, the annual average dropped to just under 39 micrograms. Therefore, Hesse's Environment Minister Hinz has declared diesel driving bans in Frankfurt no longer necessary.

In Limburg an der Lahn, it has already been decided to lift the diesel driving ban. On the busy B8, all six measuring stations measured less than 40 micrograms of nitrogen dioxide. However, at one station it was very close at 39.9 micrograms. But that is enough to lift the driving bans on 1 April.

In Baden-Württemberg, environmental zones are on the brink this year: in 2016, there were still 27 municipalities in the state that produced too much nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and particulate matter PM10; one year later, this number was already reduced to just one city: Ludwigsburg, where the limit value for nitrogen dioxide was still exceeded. Now it is to be reassessed whether environmental zones can be abolished. The limit values for particulate matter PM10 have been complied with across the board since 2018. In particular, the zones in the following municipalities are to be examined: Heidelberg, Karlsruhe, Wendlingen, Urbach, Schwäbisch Gmünd, Schramberg, Pfinztal and Ilsfeld. Here, the values have been below 35 microgrammes per cubic metre since 2019. Baden-Württemberg's transport minister sees this as the result of the measures and requirements implemented to reduce pollutants. However, he warns against prematurely abolishing environmental zones, namely where the limit values have only dropped slightly. In these places, he says, it is to be feared that the driving ban will otherwise have to be quickly reintroduced. However, there are also places where the results were clearer: In Ilsfeld in the Heilbronn district, just as in Heidelberg and Karlsruhe, the annual mean value dropped to 35 micrograms of nitrogen dioxide per cubic metre of air since 2019. In Baden-Württemberg, there are a total of 38 places where only vehicles with a green environmental sticker stuck to the rear window are allowed to enter. Minister Hermann puts the proportion of cars in the state that do not yet have a green sticker at only one to two percent of the total vehicle fleet. 

In Berlin, there are still four streets that do not allow diesel vehicles through: Hermannstrasse, Silbersteinstrasse, Leipziger Strasse and Alt-Moabit. But if the NO2 limits are met again this year, the bans could be lifted altogether, according to Thomsen, spokesman for the environmental senate administration. In this context, further steps for air pollution control in the city are also to be discussed in the second half of this year.

But many warn against easing too soon. So, of course, does the Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH): if traffic increases again after the pandemic, there is a danger that the values will rise again and driving bans will have to be introduced after all. That would make it necessary to re-equip the city with signs, inspectors and an information campaign for motorists. On the other hand, DUH itself says that numerous improvements have been introduced on its initiative: Fewer lanes for cars, more lanes for bicycles, the expansion of public transport. So the reduction in pollutant emissions could well be due to this and not just to the lower volume of traffic during the pandemic. However, the example of Balingen proves that it does not have to be this way: There, the environmental zone was lifted without pollutants rising again afterwards, but rather continuing to fall in line with the general trend.

For the future, however, motorists are threatened with further trouble: the World Health Organisation (WHO) has meanwhile lowered the limit value for nitrogen dioxide to 10 milligrams. The EU is also already working on tightening the limit of 40 milligrams as an annual average. The limit value for particulate matter PM10, which is now 40 micrograms per cubic metre of air in the EU, has also been lowered by the WHO to 15 micrograms per cubic metre of air.

If the WHO values are adopted EU-wide, this could mean a whole flood of new driving bans, because none of the monitored roads in Germany have so little pollution. In that case, there would be a series of driving bans and hundreds of new environmental zones in all large and medium-sized cities in Germany.