May 22, 2025
Last year, 16,403 fines were issued in the Brussels region for motorists who entered the low-emission zone (LEZ) with an overly polluting car. That’s almost a halving from the record year of 2023, when 29,643 drivers were fined. Meanwhile, several citizens’ associations have started proceedings at the Constitutional Court to annul the two-year postponement of […]
May 16, 2025
Planet Earth is heading for more than 1.5 degrees of global warming. A disturbing new calculation shows that the rate of warming is now twice as fast as it was at the end of the 20th century. The climate goal the world set itself ten years ago in Paris was to limit global warming to […]
April 22, 2025
Brussels Airport will invest half a billion euros in infrastructure to accommodate the passenger growth expected in the coming years. The project involves the construction of a new intermodal hub, an expansion of the departure and arrival hall, a new hotel, a new drop-off zone, and a green boulevard with a park. The investment is […]
April 14, 2025
In a radiation protection study commissioned by the German Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) and the German Federal Ministry for the Environment (BMUV), all electric cars analyzed complied with the recommendations for protection against the health effects of magnetic fields. According to the researchers, people are not generally exposed to stronger magnetic fields in […]
April 07, 2025
This year, Limburg celebrates the 30th anniversary of the cycle route network—one of the province’s main attractions. Recent research by Visit Limburg confirms that cycling in Limburg is popular not only with the Limburgers themselves but also with cyclists from far beyond the provincial borders. Visit Limburg’s study shows that 90% of cyclists are delighted […]
April 04, 2025
Rehabilitation physicians at UZ Ghent want a bicycle helmet to become mandatory in Belgium. After all, less than a third of Belgians (29%) wear a bicycle helmet, but out of the nearly four in ten victims of injury accidents involving bicycles and speed pedelecs who ended up in a Belgian hospital in 2023 had a […]
March 31, 2025
A team of researchers with the Belgian professor Sebastiaan van de Velde as the lead author, reported that certain commercial activities damage the sea floors and disrupt the ocean’s natural carbon capture capacity. They also emphasized the need better to assess this “hidden emission” of greenhouse gases. The oceans play a crucial role in regulating […]
March 25, 2025
Paris residents voted in a referendum on Sunday to make hundreds of streets car-free. With this measure, the left-wing city council wants to reduce car use further, improve air quality, and increase the quality of life in the French capital. However, turnout was low: barely 4% of the 1.4 million residents bothered to vote. Two-thirds […]
March 25, 2025
On May 27th, Hasselt University will award an honorary doctorate to Hugo Bollen, the inventor of the walking and cycling node network. Hugo Bollen, a former engineer at the Kempen Coal Mines (Kempische Steenkoolmijnen), came up with the now widespread cycling and walking junction network years ago. The doctorate is a recognition of his essential […]
March 24, 2025
According to the Progress Report on the Programmatic Approach to Nitrogen, nitrogen oxide emissions in Flanders have fallen by 35 percent between 2015 and 2022, and ammonia emissions have fallen by 9 percent in those seven years. Environment Minister Jo Brouns presented the report on Friday, March 21st. Nitrogen oxides (80%) mainly come from the […]
March 24, 2025
The Brussels Parliament has approved the proposal for an ordinance clarifying specific provisions postponing the tightening of the Low Emission Zone (LEZ) until January 1, 2027. The vote was 67 to 14, with the Greens and DéFI voting against and Benjamin Dalle (CD&V) abstaining. Whether this definitively eliminates the problems remains to be seen. Touring, […]
March 17, 2025
A recent report indicates that London’s air quality has significantly improved since the introduction of the Ultra-Low Emission Zone, an area where polluting vehicles are banned or must pay a congestion charge to enter. Annual roadside NO2 concentrations across the capital have been nearly halved (49%) between 2016 and 2023, while preliminary figures indicate London […]
March 05, 2025
Flemish public transport company De Lijn paid more than 70,000 euros in fines last year for violations of low-emission zones (LEZ), a multiple of the 2,350 euros from 2023. A total of 384 fines were involved. Especially Antwerp and Ghent, together with Brussels, the only three active LEZ in Belgium, were mainly responsible. In Antwerp, […]
March 03, 2025
More than 500 doctors have called on European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to uphold the planned 2035 phase-out of combustion engines, warning of serious health risks if the policy is weakened. The doctors criticized efforts to soften carbon dioxide (CO2) emission limits, arguing that delaying the transition would endanger public health. Road traffic […]
February 28, 2025
For years, the Brussels Capital Region has been demanding compliance with Brussels noise standards to limit noise pollution at Brussels Airport. The French-speaking court of first instance in Brussels has once again condemned the Belgian state for the excessive nuisance caused by night flights over the capital. At the same time, it increased the penalty […]
February 26, 2025
The European Commission proposes banning polluting and harmful heating systems, such as wood-burning stoves, by 2027. Still, the proposal is encountering resistance in countries like Germany and the Czech Republic. A draft law was due to be presented in Brussels on February 12th. The law would impose more stringent limits on harmful particulate emissions from […]
February 04, 2025
From March 3rd, a lane on the Paris ‘périphérique’ will be reserved for carpool cars, security services, and public transport. Only cars with at least two occupants, public transport vehicles (buses and taxis), emergency services, and persons with reduced mobility are allowed to drive in the left lane of the Paris Ring Road. The rule […]
January 17, 2025
The Brussels urban movement BRAL, together with other civil society organizations, points out a legal error in the ordinance on the postponement of the tightening of the Low-Emission Zone (LEZ) in the Brussels Capital Region. Due to a reference to the wrong article, many diesel and gasoline cars will be driving “illegally” in Brussels. According […]
January 06, 2025
In a groundbreaking yet polarizing move, New York City introduced a $9 congestion toll for vehicles entering southern Manhattan during peak hours last Sunday. It’s the first US city to implement such a policy, modeled after examples of cities worldwide. Having been postponed for half a year, the toll is sending ripples all over the […]
December 13, 2024
The closure of five Brussels car tunnels by 2030, including two on Avenue Louise and two on the central ring road, would save 100 million euros in the long run and have no major impact on mobility. This is according to a cost-benefit analysis of Brussels tunnels commissioned by Brussels Mobility and reported by the […]
December 11, 2024
Every year, around 239,000 deaths in the European Union can be attributed to exposure to fine particulate matter, a key air pollutant. Another 70,000 Europeans die from excessive ozone concentrations and 48,000 from nitrogen pollution. In Belgium alone, this concerns 4,100 deaths from particulate matter, 1,400 from ozone, and 1,200 from nitrogen. The figures come […]
December 09, 2024
In 2024, North and South America experienced intense wildfires, mainly affecting the Pantanal wetlands, the Amazon, Canada, and the western US. Eastern Eurasia, including within the Arctic Circle, also experienced above-average fire emissions. The regular monitoring of forest fires by the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) in various regions around the world revealed this. Severe […]
December 09, 2024
The Brussels Parliament has adopted an ordinance proposal to postpone the taxi sector’s obligation to purchase zero-emission vehicles by two years until January 2027. Green parties denounced the fact that since June, there has been no majority in the Brussels Parliament except for specific files, such as for the two-year postponement of the tightening of […]
December 05, 2024
To reduce the number of drunk train passengers getting into accidents during the festive season, UK train operator Avanti West Coast will serve a new low-alcohol beer on trains running in the West Coast Mainline between London Euston and Scotland. According to the rail company, the ‘Safety Thirst Beer’, which contains 0.5% alcohol by volume […]
November 21, 2024
The Jan Yperman Hospital, located in a rather enclosed region in Ypres, West Flanders, Belgium, has deployed drones to transport blood samples automatically. The new drone system operates fully automatically and combines 5G technology with a high-tech drone cargo port (DCP)—a world first, it claims. Last week, the British NHS also deployed drones to quickly […]
November 20, 2024
The Brussels ombudsman office wants MIVB/STIB to curb noise pollution caused by defective wheels on M7 subway trains. The appeal comes after an investigation following a complaint from a resident of Woluwe-Saint-Lambert/Sint-Lambrechts-Woluwe about noise pollution from the metro. According to Ombuds Brussels, the MIVB/STIB, the future Brussels government, and the public institution Brussels Environment must […]
November 04, 2024
Starting today, car traffic in the city center of Paris will be restricted even further with the introduction of a car-free zone, a so-called “zone à traffic limité” (ZTL). The measure is intended to reduce noise and harmful emissions, improve road safety, and create more space for cyclists and pedestrians. In addition, the new zone […]
November 01, 2024
A team of 122 researchers from United Nations agencies and academic institutions worldwide has published an article in The Lancet warning that climate-related health risks are worsening. More people face dangerous heat, food insecurity, and exposure to pathogens and other threats. The report was published on Wednesday in advance of the climate negotiations scheduled for […]
October 23, 2024
The Lower House in the Netherlands wants to postpone introducing emission-free zones for company cars and trucks until 2029. However, on January 1, 14 municipalities, including Amsterdam and Rotterdam, wanted to introduce these zones despite resistance from the political Hague and most business owners. Still, there is little chance that the introduction can be stopped. […]
October 17, 2024
According to figures from Transport for London (TfL), more than 1,400 vehicles have already been seized by bailiffs in London for non-payment of Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) fines. Since August last year, virtually all of London has been an environmental zone, the world’s largest pollution charging zone. That means users of polluting cars must pay […]
October 15, 2024
Amnesty International reports in a new report that car manufacturers BYD, Mitsubishi, and Hyundai score the worst on human rights in the production of their electric cars. According to the Human Rights Organization, mining potentially exposes communities to exploitation, health risks, and environmental damage caused by the rapid expansion of mines to extract metals such […]
October 07, 2024
The Brussels parliament has postponed for two years the tightening of the Low-Emission Zone (LEZ) on January 1st, 2025. The Liberals, PS, Les Engagés, Team Fouad Ahidar, and Vlaams Belang voted in favor; the Greens and DéFi against, while Vooruit, N-VA, and CD&V abstained. Urban movement BRAL calculated that postponing the ban on the most […]
September 26, 2024
The tightening of the low-emission zone (LEZ) in Brussels will most likely be postponed from 2025 to 2027. The proposal of an ordinance to this effect by MR, PS, Les Engagés, and Open Vld was approved on Wednesday in the Environment Committee of the Brussels Parliament. The Brussels Parliament’s plenary session on October 4th must […]
September 26, 2024
Absenteeism is peaking at the Tesla factory in Grünheide, near Berlin. Management has, therefore, decided to visit employees on sick leave at home to check whether their absence is legal. In August, the sick leave rate among the 12,000 employees in Grünheide had risen to 17 percent; at the beginning of September, it was still […]
September 24, 2024
The Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, wants to introduce a speed limit of 50 km/hour on the Paris Ring Road from October 1st. Whether it will come to that remains to be seen because brand-new Transport Minister François Durovray says he is unconvinced about the project. “I think this is not a decision that the […]
September 23, 2024
According to the BeMob survey of the FPS Mobility and Transport, thanks to teleworking, 34 million kilometers are avoided daily, including 16 million by car. The survey, carried out between August 2023 and July 2024, questioned more than 4,000 Belgian workers. Almost one-third of Belgian employees (31%) work from home at least one day a […]
September 19, 2024
Some 36 action groups and citizens’ initiatives, united as the Modal Shift Coalition (MSC), want politicians to work harder on the modal shift for Flemish cities with higher quality of life. In other words, there should be more space for pedestrians and cyclists, fewer cars, and more public transport and shared mobility. The call comes […]
September 18, 2024
On Wednesday, the Environment Committee of the Brussels parliament is considering several proposals to postpone the planned tightening of the Low-Emission Zone (LEZ). The proposal that stands the best chance is that of MR, Les Engagés, PS, and Open Vld to postpone stricter LEZ standards by two years. According to the Brussels administration, a postponement […]
September 11, 2024
The European Space Agency (ESA) warns in a report published on Tuesday that global methane emissions, a powerful greenhouse gas, continue to rise. The report reveals that human activities are responsible for at least two-thirds of global methane emissions.“The trends are going in exactly the opposite direction of what is needed to maintain a habitable […]
September 10, 2024
From October 1st, only 50 km/hour may be driven on the Paris Ring Road. The news was already announced last year, but Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo has officially confirmed the speed limit. Remarkably, for the measure intended to reduce pollution for more than half a million inhabitants, Hidalgo is not awaiting the advice of the […]
September 05, 2024
It must be no coincidence: just when three French-speaking parties involved in the formation of the Brussels government decided on their own to present a proposal in parliament to postpone the tightening of the emission standard for the low-emission zone (LEZ) in Brussels from the beginning of 2025 to 2027, the non-profit organization Chercheurs d’Air […]
August 29, 2024
The ministerial instruction of outgoing Mobility Minister Georges Gilkinet (Ecolo) preventing the use of Boeing 777 aircraft at Brussels Airport at night has been suspended. The Minister said this in the Parliamentary Committee on Mobility. If consultations with the Flemish government come to nothing, it will be up to the next federal government to resolve […]
August 29, 2024
Record wildfires in 2023 pushed Canada into the world’s top four greenhouse gas-emitting countries that year. This is evident from a study published in the journal Nature on Wednesday. In 2023, wildfires burned about 15 million hectares – about four percent of Canada’s total forest area – and more than 200,000 people had to be […]
August 16, 2024
A fire incident with an EV caused the South Korean Ministry of Transport to ask carmakers to disclose the names of their battery suppliers. Earlier this month, a fire broke out in the underground car park of an apartment complex in Incheon, South Korea. The fire was apparently caused by a Mercedes EQE. While the […]
August 05, 2024
The Flemish government is invoking a conflict of interest regarding federal Mobility Minister Georges Gilkinet (Ecolo) ‘s decision to prevent parcel company DHL from landing or taking off in Zaventem with Boeing 777 aircraft. According to Gilkinet, DHL does not comply with night-time noise standards. In turn, Flemish Periphery Minister Ben Weyts (N-VA) says Gilkinet […]
June 11, 2024
According to Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University (NTU), air pollution can be linked to about 135 million premature deaths between 1980 and 2020. This is according to a study published in the journal Environment International. These deaths would be caused by airborne PM2.5, particulate matter from vehicles, industrial emissions, and natural sources such as fires or […]
May 28, 2024
The Brussels city council wants the Brussels Region to take measures against noise from amplified engines and exhaust pipes in the capital’s streets. To this end, the city council approved a resolution by Councilor Mathias Vanden Borre (N-VA) on the issue. According to the World Health Organization, noise is the second biggest environmental cause of […]
May 27, 2024
The Flemish government will start new proceedings before the Court of Appeal to demand penalty payments of 100,000 euros per day if the federal government does not adjust the flight routes over the Flemish periphery again. Flemish Periphery Minister Ben Weyts (N-VA) announced this in a press release. Federal Mobility Minister Georges Gilkinet (Ecolo) called […]
May 27, 2024
Software République, an open innovation ecosystem for intelligent, safe, and sustainable mobility in which Renault is involved, has now presented the ‘U1st Vision’ concept vehicle. It is intended for neighborhood services and can, for example, be equipped as a doctor’s surgery on wheels. The ‘U1st’ demonstrator consists of two parts: a self-contained multi-service module (‘pop-up’) […]
May 21, 2024
Over 100 vehicles have been donated to Ukraine through London’s ultra-low emission zone (ULEZ) scrappage program. Twenty of those vehicles have already arrived in the war-torn country this weekend, and another thirteen are en route. Transportation is vital for saving lives during the war. Once Londoners are accepted to the Ulez scrappage scheme and donate […]
May 21, 2024
Brussels Airlines is going to the Council for Permit Disputes against the new environmental permit for Brussels Airport. According to the airline, European rules were not respected. Thirteen environmental organizations and residents’ associations are also taking the same step, following the lead of the Walloon government and Brussels Environment Minister Alain Maron (Ecolo). They say […]
May 08, 2024
The Belgian High Health Council is calling for a ban on night flights at Brussels Airport. This is the advisory body’s first recommendation of such a measure. According to the Council, at least 160,000 people living nearby are at increased risk of negative health effects, such as disturbed sleep, reduced lung function, and changes in […]
May 06, 2024
CO2 emissions from major industries and aviation in Belgium fell by more than ten percent last year, the largest drop since the financial crisis. The figure is measured in CO2 equivalents, which convert the impact of all greenhouse gases together into the impact of CO2. The decrease was even more pronounced at the European level, […]
May 02, 2024
Energy ministers from the Group of Seven (G7) major democracies agreed on Tuesday to end the use of coal in power generation during the first half of the next decade. Still, they gave leeway to Germany and Japan, whose economies depend on the fuel. Germany has written into its legislation a final target to shut […]
May 02, 2024
The Walloon government has granted Liège Airport a new environmental permit. The Council of State initially threatened to annul that. Still, strengthening the permit’s legal basis, including the limit of 55,000 authorized flights per year, remedied that shortcoming. At the end of February, the auditor at the State Council ordered the annulment of the license […]
April 29, 2024
Last year, 5,317 Flemish people took a fit-to-drive test at the CARA center. Almost fourteen percent of them received negative driving advice, meaning that even with car adjustments or driver license restrictions, they could no longer participate safely in traffic. CARA, a subdivision of the traffic institute Vias, is the Test Center for Fitness to […]
April 26, 2024
Automotive supplier Continental has agreed to a 100 million euro fine imposed by prosecutors for its involvement in the notorious dieselgate emissions scandal. The fine was due to a “negligent breach of supervisory duties”, meaning the company undertook too little to inspect responsibility and managers for the supply of engine control units and related software […]
April 24, 2024
E-bikes are popular among the elderly, and the number of Belgians buying them is rising. Still, you better use a helmet when you get on your e-bike. According to a recent study from Zurich, the injuries you can suffer in a fall or accident are even more comparable to those of motorcyclists rather than conventional […]
April 23, 2024
According to a study by the Federal Planning Office, the 2012 reform of the Flemish vehicle registration tax (BIV) led to a faster but small decrease in CO2 emissions from new passenger cars in Flanders. The additional impact of the Flemish reform of the annual circulation tax in 2016 and the premium for emission-free cars, […]
April 12, 2024
In Paris, the bicycle has overtaken the car as a means of transport and is now behind walking and public transport. According to a survey by the Paris Region Institute (IPR), conducted at the request of some 15 public and private institutions, Parisians use bicycles more, chosen for 11,2% of intramural trips, than cars, with […]
