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| Germany diesel ban: Court rules cities can block polluting vehicles from some areas | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A German court has ruled cities can impose driving bans on the oldest and most polluting diesel cars in a landmark court ruling hailed as a "victory for clean air". | |
| The decision could lead to millions of drivers in Germany having to switch to cleaner cars or use alternative forms of transport on days when harmful emissions are particularly high. | |
| The Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig rejected an appeal brought by two German states against lower court decisions in Stuttgart and Dusseldorf that suggested driving bans for particularly dirty diesel cars - of which there are around 15 million in Germany - would be effective and should be considered. | |
| Environmental campaigners had sued dozens of German cities, arguing that they have a duty to cut excessive air pollution to protect people's health. | |
| Niklas Schinerl, clean air campaigner at Greenpeace Germany, said: “This ruling is a victory for clean air, and shows what’s possible when public health is the priority. | |
| “Across Europe, decisions like these are making it clear that diesel cars are on the way out. It makes no sense to invest in a new diesel now, because it’s only a matter of time before even the newest diesels are either banned or priced out of cities. | |
| “Instead, dirty diesel cars will be replaced by cleaner, greener electric cars, improved cycling infrastructure and sustainable transport that’s good for health and the environment.” | |
| News of the court ruling pushed shares in German car companies down. | |
| Diesel cars - once touted as an environmentally-friendly alternative to petrol vehicles - have become the focus for air quality campaigners in recent years. | |
| In particular, emissions of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), which is linked to lung problems, are several times higher in diesel than petrol cars. | |
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