BERLIN, July 31 (Xinhua) -- The majority of Germans are in favor of targeted bans on diesel vehicles in areas affected by nitrogen oxide pollution, a poll cited by media reports on Monday has found.
According to the survey conducted by Emnid for the non-governmental environmental organization Greenpeace, 57 percent of respondents agreed that diesel vehicles should no longer be able to access urban areas with poor air quality. 39 percent of respondents rejected such bans.
The findings were surprising in light of the high market share still enjoyed by diesel cars in Germany. Despite falling in the wake of the "dieselgate" scandal and the related threat of bans and losses in resale value, diesel cars still accounted for 40 percent of newly registered vehicles in Germany in May.
Support for driving bans was notably higher among women (63 percent) than among men (51 percent).
Additionally, 86 percent of respondents demanded that producers recall and upgrade vehicles to ensure that they meet relevant emission regulations in daily use.
"A little bit of software-cosmetics alone cannot protect the people's health," Niklas Schinerl, energy expert at Greenpeace, told the newspaper Rheinische Post.
"The producers must improve their hardware as well. " Schinerl argued. He described the "continued inactivity" of Federal Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) as "bordering on failure to render assistance."
On Wednesday, German government representatives will meet with the country's automotive industry for a "diesel summit" during which they will discuss means to lower urban nitrogen oxide pollution.
Older diesel-powered vehicles are responsible for the bulk of nitrogen oxide pollution in urban areas.
According to the newsmagazine SPIEGEL, plans to meet this objective will center on software upgrades for diesel motors in the European Union's Euro-5 and Euro-6 regulatory emissions categories.
Ahead of the summit, environmental activist groups including Greenpeace have held protests in front of the offices of the Federal Transport Ministry.
