Rsent it Stop to diesel vehicles Euro 5: The ban will no longer start in autumn 2025but will begin on October 1, 2026. But not only that, because it will also be reduced. The narrow, in fact, will only concern the cars circulating in large cities and municipalities with over 100 thousand inhabitants, instead of 30 thousand as initially expected. This was established by an amendment to the Infrastructure Decree, which rewritten the times and methods of a measure designed to contain pollution in the Po Valley. At the base of the slip, they explain by the government, there would be an evaluation of “common sense”. Yet the story is much more complex And it includes political pressures, social protests and economic limits.
Stop to diesel Euro 5 postponed to 2026, because it is necessary
The choice to limit the circulation of Euro 5 diesel, arises from very precise environmental reasons. For years, in fact, the regions of the Po Valley, Piedmont, LombardyVeneto and Emilia-Romagnarecord levels of air pollution among the highest in Europe, with concentrations constantly beyond the allowed limits. A situation that has not remained without consequences.
The sentence for air quality
Italy was sentenced by the Court of Justice of the European Union for non -compliance with European standards on air quality. Within this picture, the Euro 5 diesel vehicles, although not among the oldest, are those that pollute the most, especially in urban contexts, where traffic is more intense. For this reason, and under the push of European directives, It has also become necessary to include these vehicles in smog reduction plansso that the measures are really effective and not only symbolic.
What the block was foreseen originally
It was the Meloni government that introduced a measure in 2023 which provided for, starting from 1 October 2025, The gradual stop to the circulation of Euro 5 diesel vehicles in the most polluted cities in Italy. The goal was finally implementing the two judgments of the European Union who asked Italy to reduce smog levels. The decision was then inserted in a wider plan to improve the quality of the air, which required the regions involved to update their environmental programs, also providing for new limitations to private traffic.
The block of the Euro 5 diesel changes shape, but opens a wider challenge: that of the social sustainability of the ecological transition (Getty)
The controversies: a unfair measure for citizens and businesses
From the beginning, however, the measure generated a wave of criticism, especially in the North. The presidents of Lombardy, Veneto and Piedmontsupported by the League and other exponents of the center -right, immediately reported the “unfair” impact of the measurement: millions of citizens and businesses would have found themselves having to scrape still perfectly functioning cars, without adequate incentives and in times considered too tight. Same concern Also of trade associations, hauliers and craftsmen. Strengthened by the support of citizens, in Parliament, the League has pushed for a profound modification of the text, asking for more time and flexibility for the transition.
The block to the most polluting cars will only be worth in large cities
The amendment accepted in the infrastructure decree,Thus moves the block to 1 October 2026 And it limits it to urban centers with more than 100 thousand inhabitants. Only large cities such as Milan, Turin, Bologna, Verona, Padua remain interestedwhile hundreds of medium-small municipalities are effectively excluded. For these, the regions will have greater autonomy And they will be able to decide whether or not to apply the limitations to the Euro 5 diesel, or provide for alternative measures that guarantee an equivalent reduction of pollution. The government, in short,, has changed strategy to avoid too high a social impact and respond to a widespread discontent. But the environmental challenge, meanwhile, remains intact.
A temporary truce, but the problem remains
The postponement offers breath but does not cancel European obligationsnor improves air quality. The EU Commission, moreover, continues to monitor chronic exceeds of the limits in the Po Valley e could reopen infringement proceduresif the new measures are insufficient. The real knot, now, will be to understand if the regions will use this extra time To invest in sustainable mobility, incentives and new technical toolsor if 2026 will only be another postponement pending the next compromise. Because between the right to mobility and the right to breathe clean air, the budget, sooner or later, will have to return. And it will no longer be enough to move the deadline.
I woman © RESERVED REPRODUCTION