They Went to Court to Make the Air Cleaner – and Won

Legal battles were taken across Germany regarding the consistently dangerous levels of air pollution, and the country’s highest court ruled in favor of diesel restrictions in many major German cities.

“People are finally breathing cleaner air – legal action works,” says Dorothee Saar, head of transport and air quality at Deutsche Umwelthilfe. “We see the potential for NO2 to meet legal limits in every German town by 2021. Politicians and the diesel industry have pushed against us at every stage, just for working towards a reality where people actually get to breathe clean air. In the end, the court rulings and these latest findings say it all: our litigation was justified and successful. We must hold our leaders to account when our health is on the line.”

Between 2018 and 2019, the levels of nitrogen dioxide were reduced by an average of 4.2µg/m³ in cities where air quality litigation has been undertaken. In cities where no action was taken, the reduction stands at 2.1µg/m³. Amid the pandemic, people prefer private vehicles over public transportation, exposing pedestrians and cyclists to dangerous conditions, so concrete measures are welcome to protect them.