Actually, there should be a ban on diesel Euro5 vehicles in Piedmont in Italy soon. 76 municipalities would be affected. Now the council has put the changes on hold for the time being. A sigh of relief for the owners of the approximately 140,000 vehicles.
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.
The operator of Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport has probably been depositing poisoned soil in the surrounding area for years. Traffic, whether on the road, in the air or in the water, is increasingly poisoning our environment. While ordinary consumers are punished by measures like environmental zones, big corporations usually get away with it.
Devastating forest fires are raging in southern France. Thousands of holidaymakers had to be evacuated from campsites. The flames are not only endangering the people in the region and causing enormous property damage, but are also contributing greatly to particulate pollution in the air. Is this why driving bans are now threatening?
The new local governments are massively opposing the introduction of the new environmental zones. In many places they want to abolish the low emission zones or reduce them to an absolute minimum. Only 14 out of 149 cities meet the legal requirements. Cars seem to be on the rise again in the popular holiday destination.
The planned ban on older diesel and petrol vehicles in Flanders is postponed. Originally, diesel Euro5 and petrol Euro2 vehicles were to be banned from entering Antwerp and Ghent in less than 4 months. Now the government has postponed these tightening measures by one year and completely suspended all further bans.
The pilot project for the electrification of truck traffic in Germany has failed. Experts had doubted the German government's plan from the very beginning. The government ignored the warning cries and made a massive miscalculation.
In the event of high air pollution, intelligent displays will inform citizens and encourage them to use public transport. This should prevent driving bans.
The Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) in London, which has been in operation since April 2019, is to be significantly expanded. Originally, the ULEZ was established on an area of 21 square kilometres. On 25 October 2021, it was expanded 18 times and on 29 August 2023, it will be expanded to a whopping 1579 square kilometres. This will cover all London boroughs in Greater London, making it one of the largest environmental zones in the world.
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.
