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The impact of low emission zones on PM10 levels in urban areas in Germany

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  • Malina, Christiane
  • Fischer, Frauke

Abstract

High levels of particulate matter scaling less than 10 micrometers in diameter (PM10) in many urban areas have led to the introduction of binding PM10 limit values by the European Commission in 2005. Road transport in inner city areas is believed to be one of the main contributors to accumulated PM10 levels and, thus, is the focus of regulation. One of the strongest regulatory mechanisms to meet the new PM10 air quality standard is the introduction of low emission zones (LEZs) in Germany. This policy allows local authorities to define geographical areas in urban agglomerations as LEZs, into which vehicles that do not meet predetermined emission standards are prohibited from entering. This paper evaluates the effectiveness of LEZs on reducing PM10 levels in German cities. We employ a fixed effects panel data model to analyze the effects of LEZs on daily PM10 levels using data from 2000 to 2009. We take into account daily data for meteorological conditions and traffic volume. The results of the analysis reveal that the introduction of LEZs has significantly reduced daily PM10 levels in urban areas. We can also show that PM10 levels are significantly driven down further when LEZ standards in cities become more stringent over time.

Suggested Citation

  • Malina, Christiane & Fischer, Frauke, 2012. "The impact of low emission zones on PM10 levels in urban areas in Germany," CAWM Discussion Papers 58, University of Münster, Münster Center for Economic Policy (MEP).
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:cawmdp:58
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Montero, José-María & Fernández-Avilés, Gema, 2015. "Functional Kriging Prediction of Pollution Series: The Geostatistical Alternative for Spatially-fixed Data/Predicción de series de contaminación mediante kriging funcional. La alternativa geoestadísti," Estudios de Economia Aplicada, Estudios de Economia Aplicada, vol. 33, pages 145-179, Enero.

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    JEL classification:

    • Q58 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Government Policy
    • R49 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics - - - Other

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