Germany’s Federal Administrative Court has handed cities a powerful weapon against air pollution—the power to ban diesel cars from their streets—but now they will have to decide how, or whether, to use it.
The ruling grew from a suit by Deutsche Umwelthilfe (German Environment Aid) that sued Stuttgart and Düsseldorf over failure to act on high pollution levels. Germany as a whole has failed to meet EU standards and is concerned to find ways to fend off sanctions while keeping Germans happy.
Government officials at both the state and national levels argued against allowing the bans, saying they would be unnecessary, could create a patchwork of regulations, and could cause serious economic disruption, and that they hope that dieselmakers, who for years cheated on pollution levels can solve the problem.
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