Low Emission Zones for Italy & Germany
Three German cities introduced legislation against the most-polluting cars yesterday barring them from downtown districts marked as environmental zones and drivers will have to pay a pollution charge to enter Milan's city centre from Wednesday in what the Italian financial capital bills as a trend-setting way to cut smog.Berlin Cologne and Hanover require drivers to fix special stickers to their cars showing that they fulfill new exhaust emission standards. Vehicles like old diesel-engined cars that exceed the limit will be banned. The ban applies seven days a week.
Drivers who ignore the ban will be giving an initial warning and if they ignore it will be fined. The city of Berlin said it would introduce fines of up to €40 (£29) starting in February while Cologne wants to start handing out tickets only in April.
Several other German cities have said they want to introduce similar bans later in the year. The cities hope that the new initiative will reduce air pollution.
http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article3301034.ece
Milan's EcoPass launched as a one-year trial is aimed at the 89000 vehicles that each day clog the middle of the northern Italian city where pollution readings often top European Union (EU) limits.
The charge is being billed as the first of its kind among European cities. London which took the lead in congestion charging in 2003 is preparing a pollution fee on lorries buses and coaches entering its first low-emission zone from Feb. 4.
Other Italian cities are taking steps to control smog stemming from one of the world's highest levels of car ownership. Rome launched measures on Tuesday that include limits on the most- polluting diesel vehicles and Turin is considering a pollution fee for its city centre.
This is a new way to deal with the problem of pollution and health Milan mayor Letizia Moratti told Il Giornale newspaper in an interview published on Monday.
This is a model that a lot of cities are looking at with interest she said. Moratti added she would outline the programme to United Nations officials in the next few weeks.
The fee will be measured on pollutants emitted by vehicles based on five engine classes. Drivers must pay between 2 and 10 euros ($3-$15) during weekday daytime hours to drive in the congested inner city an area of just over eight square km (three square miles).
Cameras at 43 electric gates will monitor vehicles to ensure they have paid or to levy fines of 70 euros and more. Estimated revenue of 24 million euros this year is earmarked for buses new bicycle paths and green vehicles. Milan is often shrouded in haze and its residents often complain of sore throats and itchy eyes from pollution. Many European cities are struggling to meet EU limits on fine particulate matter a major cause of respiratory illnesses. Milan estimates the charge will cut the pollutant in the area by almost a third.
Vehicles using alternative power such as methane and electricity as well as ambulances motorcycles buses taxis and vehicles delivering perishable goods will be exempt. Residents of the zone can seek a discount. Some critics argue that the pollution charge should not just be an extra tax on drivers. Others want wider action. Car exhaust is an important source of particulate matter but it's not the only one said Guido Giuseppe Lanzani head of the air quality department at Lombardy's regional environmental protection agency.