Dutch cities pushing through with no-emission zones despite new coalition's disapproval

The four large Dutch cities will implement their emission-free zones as planned on 1 January 2025, despite the new government’s coalition agreement stating it wants to investigate delaying the implementation. Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, and Utrecht confirmed their determination to proceed, NOS reports.

The emission-free zones mean that, from next year, all commercial vehicles with combustion engines will be banned from part of the involved municipalities’ city centers. In practice, diesel vans and trucks will be unwelcome, except for a few exceptions for which an exemption applies.

The previous government supported the introduction of emission-free zones and was working on a new traffic sign to indicate them. But when the Rutte IV Cabinet collapsed, parliament declared the necessary changes to the law controversial, halting the plans until the new government took over. The new PVV, VVD, NSC, and BBB government wrote in their coalition agreement that “it is being considered how the establishment of zero-emission zones can be postponed.”

Municipalities have been preparing for the introduction of emission-free zones for years. They have made logistics advisors available for entrepreneurs and set up information websites, transition periods, exemption schemes, and trade-in subsidies for old company cars. The four large cities are determined to implement the plans. They stressed that they, and not the central government, are responsible for this decision.

“Entrepreneurs would like clarity about the rules,” the municipality of Utrecht told NOS. “We have been working on preparing for the zero-emission zone in 2025 since 2014.”

“We do not want entrepreneurs who have already invested to suffer from erring government policy,” The Hague told the broadcaster.

Amsterdam has reduced the size of its zero-emission zone because parliament has blocked the amendments to the law necessary to adjust traffic signs on the highway. The emission-free zone would have covered the entire area within the A10 Ring but is now limited to within the central ring.

Rotterdam is also determined to proceed with its plans, according to the broadcaster.

In addition to the four large cities, 11 other municipalities also want to implement zero-emission zones on January 1. The 15 municipalities recently asked the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of the Dutch parliament, to approve the necessary changes to the law as quickly as possible for national traffic signs and exemption schemes. If it doesn’t, individual municipalities will come up with a patchwork of solutions and rules, they said in an urgent letter to the Kamer.