Green state premier: Diesel is the best combustion engine

Baden-Württemberg’s Green state premier Winfried Kretschmann has defended the diesel technology as “the best combustion engine there is”, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reports. “Clean diesel engines exist” and “we’re going to need them for a long time to come”, Kretschmann said following heavy criticism by the car industry of looming driving ban for diesel cars in the federal state’s capital Stuttgart. Kretschmann insisted that his administration did not decide on the driving ban “single-handedly” but instead was following jurisdiction aimed at ensuring clean air and public health.

Baden-Württemberg is home to influential carmaker Daimler and major supplier Bosch, both of which rely heavily on diesel technology.

For background on legal aspects and the Energiewende, see the CLEW factsheet From ideas to laws – how Energiewende policy is shaped.