Could A Diesel Ban In Hamburg, Germany, Cause More Pollution? Some Residents Worry

Hamburg became the first German city to ban older diesel vehicles on parts of its streets. The ban applies to vehicles with older engines on about 1.4 miles of two of the city’s busiest thoroughfares. Hamburg officials say the measure will help the city comply with European Union diesel pollution limits and reduce toxins that government scientists say kill thousands of Germans each year. Officials also say they do not want to impose more restrictions than necessary and point to other pollution-reduction efforts, including expanding and modernizing public transit. Some residents report feeling sick from road fumes, while critics argue the partial ban is mainly political and may shift pollution rather than reduce it overall.

"Hamburg officials predict the inaugural ban affecting the use of vehicles with older engines on 1.4 miles of two of the city's busiest thoroughfares will help bring Germany's second-largest metropolis into compliance with European Union diesel pollution limits and reduce toxins that government scientists say kill thousands of Germans each year. "We don't want to implement more restrictions than reasonable and necessary," said Jens Kerstan, the Hamburg state senator for energy and environment. He said there are other initiatives underway to curb pollution and reduce traffic in Hamburg, including expanding and modernizing the public transit network."

"But many Germans question whether the limited ban is an environmental milestone, as the city claims, or a political shell game that will ultimately create more pollution. Critics of the ban are crying foul. Many Hamburg residents and business owners accuse their city of trying to score political points by being the first to impose a ban, after Germany's top administrative court on May 18 gave municipalities the green light to do so."

"Charlotte Lill, 71, lives in a high-end retiree complex off Max-Brauer-Allee, one of the Hamburg streets affected by the partial diesel ban. She says as lucky as she was to be assigned an apartment with a balcony, she barely uses it because the fumes from the road have made her feel sick."

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