A court in Berlin has sided with environmentalists and ordered a ban on diesel vehicles for several areas in the city's center. It has also ordered the city government to carry out a survey to determine which areas the ban could be expanded to.

This could affect 200,000 vehicles, including commuters' cars and delivery vans. The court gave the Berlin Senate until 2020 to implement the ban, but city officials have already said that such a timeline was impossible.

The suit was brought by the nonprofit Environmental Action Germany (DUH), who had previously sued the Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) over the Volkswagen diesel emissions scandal.

DUH was seeking a large prohibition zone for downtown Berlin, where the recommended limits for toxic nitrous oxide have long been exceeded. Such bans have been deemed admissible by the Federal Administrative Court, and are already in place in cities like Hamburg. Frankfurt is also set to introduce a partial diesel driving ban in the city center in 2019.

Watch video 01:40 Share Court imposes diesel ban on Berlin roads Send Facebook google+ Whatsapp Tumblr linkedin stumble Digg reddit Newsvine Permalink https://p.dw.com/p/36Fms Court imposes diesel ban on 11 major Berlin roads

Berlin's Social Democrat (SPD) and Green party coalition government has planned several projects aimed at reducing emissions, such as having all public buses fully electric by 2030. Until then, buses will be given new high-tech exhaust filters, and the city also plans to greatly expand its cycling infrastructure.

Also on Tuesday, environment ministers from across the European Union were meeting in Luxembourg to look for a common line on new climate protection requirements for cars.

Battling air pollution through driving bans Too much traffic makes for bad air Cities all over the world are fighting against smog. A German court has ruled that cities are allowed to impose driving bans. Many German cities — including Stuttgart, shown here — have developed an air pollution problem and are debating how best to approach the problem.

Battling air pollution through driving bans Oslo, where the diesel ban is reality A diesel ban is imposed in the Norwegian capital whenever air pollution levels rise above a prescribed limit. The ban went into effect for the first time on January 17, 2017. Ambulances and other public service vehicles running on diesel are exempt from the measure. The city plans to reduce even more cars by eliminating municipal parking spaces in the center starting in 2019.

Battling air pollution through driving bans Paris is also planning a diesel ban Starting in 2024, the French capital will ban diesel vehicles; in 2030 it intends to expand the ban to gas-powered cars. Vehicles manufactured before 1997 are already prohibited in the city on weekdays. When air pollution levels exceed prescribed limits, Parisians have to follow a rotation system in which only cars with either even- or odd-numbered plates are allowed to be driven in the city.

Battling air pollution through driving bans London has a congestion charge If you want to drive into the center of London, a day's ride through the city will cost you 10 pounds ($13.80, €11.20). London introduced the congestion charge in 2003. Automatic number plate recognition is used to enforce the measures. Anyone who does not pay the fee faces a heavy fine of up to 240 pounds.

Battling air pollution through driving bans Copenhagen – the most bike-friendly city in the world Copenhagen's mayor, Frank Jensen, wants to prevent new diesel cars from entering the city starting in 2019. Currently, over 300 kilometers of roads in the Danish capital can only be used by cyclists. With the new regulations, cycling will become easier, more convenient and cheaper than driving a car. About half of Copenhageners now cycle to work.

Battling air pollution through driving bans Pedestrian zones spreading in Madrid Car-free zones like the square in front of Madrid's Teatro Real are set to become a common sight in the city. Almost the entire center of the Spanish capital will be turned into pedestrian zones in the next five years. Madrid has high smog levels, due to being surrounded by mountains, which cause bad air to get trapped in the city.

Battling air pollution through driving bans Helsinki offers a traffic app Riding public transport will become even easier in the near future in Helsinki. In the next ten years, a mobility on demand system will be developed to include all forms of public transport in one app, including buses, self-driving cars and minibuses with flexible routes. The goal of the app is to be so good that no one will want to own a car.

Battling air pollution through driving bans Driving electric rickshaws in Delhi Smog chokes Delhi and levels of air pollution regularly go off the scale. Electric rickshaws will hopefully alleviate the problem. By 2030, all new vehicles will be electrically powered and the city will phase out gas powered vehicles. Author: Stella Braun



es/rt (AFP, Reuters)

Every evening at 1830 UTC, DW's editors send out a selection of the day's hard news and quality feature journalism. You can sign up to receive it directly here.