Germans unsatisfied with government handling of diesel crisis – survey

A large majority of Germans is not satisfied with the way the federal government aims to prevent diesel driving bans in inner cities, according to a survey by online pollster YouGov, commissioned by news agency dpa. About two-thirds of respondents said German Chancellor Angela Merkel is not standing up decisively enough for the interests of diesel drivers. Almost three-quarters stated that they had no confidence that the government and the car industry would agree on a compromise that could largely prevent driving bans. At the beginning of October, the German government decided on a complex and heavily criticised instrument mix to reduce emissions from diesel cars in polluted cities, which included swapping old models for new ones and retrofitting some older cars. Many respondents of the survey named air quality in cities and looming driving bans as two of the biggest issues deriving from exceeding diesel car emissions, while only a few named job losses in the auto industry.

Read the dpa article in German here.

For background, read the CLEW article Germany’s 'huge step' to solve diesel crisis leaves NGOs unconvinced.