Officials said they would begin banning older diesel cars and trucks from a main road in the center of Germany’s second biggest city starting on May 31. Another key road in Hamburg will also be off limits to older dieseltrucks.
Germany has been under rising pressure from residents to improve urban air quality since Volkswagen (VLKAY) admitted rigging diesel engine emissions tests in 2015. But the country’s powerful car industry lobbied hard against outright bans.
Dozens of German cities frequently exceed air pollution limits set by the European Union, and in February the country’s top court ruled that they could ban diesel vehicles.
Hamburg has installed roughly 100 signs to alert drivers to the new rules and offer alternative routes. A city spokesperson was not immediately available to clarify if local residents would be exempt from the diesel ban. (BBC)
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