Copenhagen and Aarhus are expected to be the first Danish cities to set up zero-emission zones, where exhaust cars are banned.
The parliament in the Danish capital Copenhagen voted on Friday (9 FEB 2024) to allow municipalities in the country to introduce the zones, according to the Ritzau news agency.
The agreement is based on previous rules on environmental zones where requirements are set for how clean the exhaust gases must be. But soon there will be zones where exhaust gas traffic is completely prohibited. The agreement also states that one of the goals is to increase the share of electric cars in Danish traffic.
The Lord Mayor of Copenhagen, Sophie Hæstorp, says that the zero-emission zone will initially be introduced in Middelalderbyen, a smaller part of the city centre. The size of the zone is comparable to the areas in Stockholm and Gothenburg that are being considered for the same scheme in Sweden.
However, it is not yet clear exactly when the Danish zones can be introduced - a final law will not be presented until the autumn.
The goal is then to have completely emission-free traffic throughout Copenhagen by 2030.
Other major European cities, such as Oslo, Paris and London, have similar plans.
