Merkel faces toxic diesel issue at air quality meet

AFP, BERLIN:  Three weeks before German elections, Chancellor Angela Merkel yesterday faced the toxic “dieselgate” scandal which pits the interests of Germany’s powerful auto sector against public health fears over air pollution.

Merkel met the mayors of some 30 cities and towns where courts or local governments are considering driving bans on diesel vehicles to cut down on nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions that cause smog, acid rain and fine particle pollution.

The chancellor has made clear she will try to stop such bans in order to protect the crucial industrial sector whose global titans like VW, Audi, Mercedes and BMW earn billions of euros in exports and employ between 800,000 and 900,000 people.

“We are working to prevent driving bans,” Merkel said before the meeting, stressing in a TV election debate on Sunday that “we will need the combustion engine for decades to come”.

While Merkel has often spoken of her long-term vision of a carbon-free economy run by climate friendly green technology, she made clear last week that, when it comes to the diesel issue, “this is 2017”. The emissions cheating scandal that has engulfed VW and other companies since 2015 has already depressed the resale value of diesel cars, and urban driving bans would sharply accelerate the trend—a powerful election issue for millions of voters.

Merkel faces toxic diesel issue at air quality meet

AFP, BERLIN: Three weeks before German elections, Chancellor Angela Merkel yesterday faced the toxic dieselgate scandal which pits the interests of Germanys powerful auto sector against public health fears over air pollution. Merkel met the mayors of some 30 cities and towns where courts or local governments are considering driving bans on diesel vehicles to cut down on nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions that cause smog, acid rain and fine particle pollution. The chancellor has made clear she will try to stop such bans in order to protect the crucial industrial sector whose global titans like VW, Audi, Mercedes and BMW earn billions of euros in exports and employ between 800,000 and 900,000 people. We are working to prevent driving bans, Merkel said before the meeting, stressing in a TV election debate on Sunday that we will need the combustion engine for decades to come. While Merkel has often spoken of her long-term vision of a carbon-free economy run by climate friendly green technology, she made clear last week that, when it comes to the diesel issue, this is 2017. The emissions cheating scandal that has engulfed VW and other companies since 2015 has already depressed the resale value of diesel cars, and urban driving bans would sharply accelerate the trenda powerful election issue for millions of voters.