BERLIN, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- The German state of Hesse will appeal the imposition of diesel driving bans in its capital Frankfurt as ordered recently by the Wiesbaden administrative court, governor Volker Bouffier (CDU) and minister for the environment Priska Hinz (Greens) both announced on Wednesday.
Bouffier and Hinz insisted that their regional government was dedicated to reducing harmful nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions in Hesse but described bans on older diesel vehicles in Frankfurt from 2019 as demanded by the court towards this end as "unacceptable" and disproportionate.
"A potential driving ban would affect around a quarter of all vehicles registered in Frankfurt and would burden large numbers of commuters and visitors from the surrounding area", a joint statement by the two CDU and Greens politicians read.
Diesel driving bans in individual German cities were enabled by a landmark ruling by the Federal Administrative Court in the wake of the diesel emissions scandal as a last resort for policymakers to ensure compliance with binding European Union (EU) clean air legislation.
Earlier, Hamburg became the first city in Germany to impose an at least partial driving ban on older diesel vehicles on two centrally-located district of Altona. A more comprehensive ban is also scheduled to take effect in Stuttgart as of the start of 2019.
