The Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig has condemned two German cities to make greater efforts in the fight against bad air.
Leipzig – The Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig has condemned two German cities to greater efforts in the fight against bad air.
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The Hanseatic City of Hamburg also has to revise its air pollution control plans. © Markus Scholz / dpa
Hamburg and Ludwigsburg in Baden-Württemberg must revise their air pollution control plans and quickly comply with the limit values for nitrogen dioxide (NO2) with specific measures, as the highest German administrative judge ruled on Friday.
At least for one section of the road in Hamburg, driving bans for older diesel vehicles would also be constitutional.
The German Environmental Aid (DUH) and the Association for the Environment and Nature Conservation Germany (BUND) had sued the plans of Hamburg and Ludwigsburg as well as Kiel.
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At certain measuring stations in the three cities, the limit value for nitrogen dioxide (NO2) of 40 micrograms per cubic meter of air on average had been exceeded for years.
After a six-hour hearing last Wednesday, the 7th Senate at the Federal Administrative Court announced its decisions on Friday.
In Ludwigsburg, the regulation of a diesel driving ban would currently be disproportionate because compliance with the limit value of 40 micrograms of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) per cubic meter of air in the annual average is foreseeable in the near future, the Leipzig judges said on Friday.
Nevertheless, the clean air plan has to be revised due to an incorrect forecast.
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In November 2019, the OVG Hamburg criticized the announced measures of the Hanseatic city as insufficient to achieve compliance with the limit values as quickly as possible.
“The considerations of driving bans are to be included in the plan,” said Andreas Korbmacher, chairman of the 7th Senate at the Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig on Friday.
In the Kiel case, the Federal Administrative Court referred the matter back to the Schleswig Higher Administrative Court (OVG). The Leipzig judges decided that this would have to negotiate again about the clean air plan for the Hanseatic city and then decide whether further measures are necessary.
The point of contention here is the use and effectiveness of special air filter systems. Among other things, the OVG must take into account an expert opinion from the manufacturer of the filter systems.
In a statement on Friday, the DUH assessed the Leipzig decisions as “a good day for the clean air and the people in Ludwigsburg, Kiel and Hamburg”.
The state chairman of BUND Hamburg, Christiane Blömeke, emphasized that the exposure to air pollutants in Hamburg is still too high, even if the measured values have decreased, mainly due to corona.
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