The postponement of the tightening of the environmental zone in the Paris metropolitan area, the Zone à Faibles Émissions (ZFE), has significant implications for the 7.2 million inhabitants and the environmental agenda in general.
Starting this year, entering many French cities can be expensive for motorists. This is because more and more traffic offenders are being caught in the environmental zones due to automatic radar checks.
From the end of August, the Ultra Low Emission Zone area in the British capital is to be extended. However, the mayor's office plans are facing resistance as neighbouring boroughs question the measure - and are now taking it to court.
Up to now, only police officers have been able to impose fines for wrong vehicles in Stockholm's environmental zone. Since they cannot check all vehicles, the Public Order Office - at the request of the Greens - is now to take over this work. In order to do this, however, Sweden must adapt the legal framework for monitoring the zone.
Years after the emissions scandal erupted, the criminal proceedings against then-Audi group boss Stadler and two other defendants could come to an end. Those responsible would have known long ago that the after-treatment of exhaust gases could be illegal. Now they will face prison sentences and fines.
Grenoble is the first French city to sue the state for inaction on air pollution. Grenoble is demanding the annulment of the Plan for the Protection of the Atmosphere (PPA3) because the limits set are too high. So far, only individuals or associations had sued.
A long-distance driver received an exorbitant fine for failing to pre-register for access to the London environmental zone. Now he is fighting the fine and forming a class action lawsuit against the British capital.
After the VW-emissions-scandal, a 35-year-old American is now at the centre of the diesel controversy. Because he sold exhaust manipulation devices, he now has to go to prison - as the price for the environmental damage he caused.
In the case of a red light violation, the Frankfurt District Court decided to punish a SUV driver more severely than others. Can similar car type-based arguments also be invoked in environmental zones? Or do they remain arbitrary and constitutionally questionable?
It's annoying: you drive into an environmental zone without noticing it and only find out about it when the fine notice flutters into your house. That doesn't have to be the case.
