Copenhagen wants to ban petrol and diesel cars

The Danish capital Copenhagen is looking to ban cars with combustion engines from the city by 2030. On Friday, all local governing parties agreed on a resolution to pave the way.

The Danish capital will conduct feasibility studies by the end of the year, particularly looking at how it can expand the number of charging stations accordingly. It is also unclear if or how the ban would apply to Frederiksberg, an enclave surrounded by Copenhagen’s urban area.

The Danish government also needs to give the go-ahead for the plan to go into action. In 2021, a political majority agreed that it should be possible for municipalities to introduce so-called “zero-emission zones” that would keep combustion engines out. But this agreement has not yet become a law. It is thus unclear if Copenhagen can ban combustion engines from the entire city or just from some areas.

Also in 2021, Copenhagen announced that it would procure electric buses only from then on. However, according to the information provided at the time, the existing diesel buses were to be used until the end of the contract period. That means ICE buses are continuously phased out – but there has yet to be a clear cut.

A total of 13 bus routes in Copenhagen are already emissions-free. In line with current plans, that number will rise to 22 routes in December 2023 and to 34 by the end of 2025 – or 90 per cent.

“We know that the future is zero-emission cars,” Mads Rørvig, managing director at industry interest group De Danske Bilimportører said. “Electric cars will probably dominate the picture when we look a little further ahead. Therefore, we see it as quite natural that the City of Copenhagen will make this requirement in the future.”

nyheder.tv2.dk (in Danish), thelocal.dk