Utrecht wants larger environmental zone and ban on diesel vehicles

The municipality of Utrecht wants to take additional steps to improve the air quality in the Dom city. For instance, a current environmental zone will be expanded in such a way that from 2027 diesel vehicles - such as cars, vans, trucks, and buses - will no longer be allowed in the whole of Utrecht if they do not meet the standard. This is currently only the case in the city center. In addition, from 2025 no new flues will be allowed in new-build homes in the city to work towards "a completely wood-burning-free city in 2030", according to the plans announced on Friday.

The latter means that Utrecht is the first municipality in the Netherlands to want wood burning with wood stoves and fireplaces to be banned in the city from 2030. This must be achieved through a process consisting of informing, advising against, and then banning.

"This creates clarity for our residents and prevents them from investing in new wood stoves. We want to improve the air quality in Utrecht as quickly as possible. We prefer a general ban on wood burning over a partial ban because this is clearer for residents and enforcement and has the greatest effect on air quality", it is stated in a policy document.

Other measures include the zone in which vans and trucks are not allowed to have any emissions being expanded to the entire city from 2030. From that year onwards, only zero-emission mopeds and scooters will be allowed to drive in the city. The municipality also wants to be stricter with itself, which means purchasing more sustainably and having a greener vehicle fleet. All intentions have been presented to the municipal council, which will decide on them later.

"We are raising the bar to protect the health of Utrecht residents," says alderman Eva Oosters (Environment and Zero-Emission Transport). "Air pollution has a huge impact, from lung problems to cardiovascular diseases. Clean air is not a luxury, but a necessity. These steps, such as the wood burning ban and the expansion of the environmental zone, are ambitious but essential."

The municipality says that the plans go beyond the legal European standards and aim to achieve the stricter advisory values ​​of the World Health Organization (WHO) from 2021.