Under the federal government lead by Angela Merkel, it can be argued that Germany is becoming a “greener” culture. However, for those who live in Germany, or those who want to visit Germany, it is no longer a choice to be green or not green.

One of the most recent “green” changes in Germany is the move to “Umweltzones” or low-emission zones (LEZs). An LEZ is an area, most often a large city, that restricts vehicles from being driven within the city based on the level of fine particle pollutants emitted by the vehicle. The goal is to improve air quality in these cities to acceptable levels dictated by the European Union. The first cities to implement LEZs in Germany include Cologne, Berlin, Hanover and Dortmund in January 2008.

How it works

Drivers who want to take their vehicles into an LEZ must have a sticker on their car that indicates the emission group the vehicle belongs to. There are four emissions groups: The Euro 1 group gets no sticker because of the age of the car. Note that different rules apply for diesel or petrol/gas powered vehicles. Euro groups 2 and 3, red and yellow stickers respectively, may enter the LEZs. But this may change depending on the results of emission tests in the LEZs over time. It is possible that group 2 or even group 3 vehicles may be prevented from being driven in cities after 2010. The Euro 4 group vehicles get a green sticker, indicating the lowest level of emissions.

Older vehicles may be retrofitted with a catalytic converter or particulate filter. This will then enable the vehicles to qualify for a green sticker.

How it affects you and me

Residents of Germany are used to rules and laws requiring this and forbidding that. For us, it is simply one more rule to be followed. Most people favour attempts to improve the environment and a little push to take action is not always a bad thing. For those of us with old cars, it likely means making some changes: My car was manufactured in 1993 and barely qualifies for a red sticker. When I travel to Cologne and other large cities farther afield, I can continue to travel by train as I do today. However, if I want to continue to drive my car in my region, I will need to get a sticker. Cities I drive in every day will become LEZs between March 2008 and January 2010. The process of getting a sticker is fairly simple and fairly inexpensive. A sticker costs up to 10 Euro. The fine for not having one in an LEZ is 40 Euro. Of course, because of the new LEZ rules and the age of my car, it may be time to consider buying a new car anyway.

For visitors to Germany, there is no impact unless you want to drive your own car here. So for example, visitors from England, Denmark, Belgium and other neighbouring countries will have to get a sticker if they want to drive in cities like Cologne, Berlin and soon Frankfurt, Munich and Heidelberg. It is quite simple for “auslaender” (foreigners) to get a sticker. Simply send or fax in a copy of your vehicle registration along with an application form to an approved office and pay the required fee. A sticker will be sent to you by snail mail. The stickers are good for the entire country and the life of your vehicle, which means you only have to go through this process once. Unless of course your vehicle is in Euro groups 2 or 3, in which case there is a chance that those vehicles will also be forbidden from LEZs in a few years time.

We can grumble about the new restrictions and new rules, or we can stand up and do our part for the environment. I think the slight inconvenience of the new rules is far outweighed by the potential benefits.