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Brussels region approves diesel car ban from 2030, petrol from 2035

17:20 30/06/2022

The Brussels government has approved a complete ban on diesel cars by 2030, which will be extended to petrol cars by 2035.

The phasing-out of all vehicles with an internal combustion engine will be achieved by gradually extending the criteria for Brussels' Low Emissions Zone (LEZ).

Since January this year, all Euro 4-standard diesel vehicles have been banned from the Brussels region. The ban will apply to Euro 5 diesel vehicles by 2025 and Euro 3 petrol by 2028.

Exemptions will still apply to school buses, vehicles for transporting people with disabilities, and the owners of vintage cars who can buy passes to drive for up to 24 days per year within the Brussels region.

To accompany the switch to electric cars, the region's government has already announced plans to install 22,000 public charging stations.

The socialist PS party within the Brussels government had expressed concern that the phasing out of diesel and petrol cars would unfairly impact low-income households and some small businesses.

The amount of the Bruxell'Air bonus, which encourages drivers to give up their car in return for free public transport, will be increased for people with a low income.

A new park-and-ride facility will also be built at UZ Brussel university hospital in the north of the city, which will be just outside the Low Emission Zone to allow commuters from outside the Brussels region to leave their older cars outside the city centre.

According to the Brussels government, fine particle emissions have fallen by about 10% since the LEZ was introduced in 2018. But a recent air quality study by Curieuzenair found that air quality varied substantially from one neighbourhood to the next, with poorer districts worst affected.

Written by The Bulletin