• Bad air quality

    Air quality is getting worse in the EU, according to a report into concentrations of particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide and ozone, and local traffic is largely to blame. The report by the European Topic Centre on Air and Climate Change said legal limits were exceeded in a ‘considerably higher’ number of measured zones in 2005 than in 2001. PM was exceeded in 44% of the zones examined.

    [mailchimp_signup][/mailchimp_signup]• Eight cities in the German state of Baden-Württemberg have introduced environmental zones, which ban cars from the city centre if they do not have a sticker indicating a maximum level of emissions. The eight follow Berlin, Cologne and Hannover, which introduced such zones on 1 January. Diesel cars need a particle filter to quality for the sticker.