Electric Vehicles Exempt From Emissions-Reducing Speed Limits

The transport sector is especially important for reducing worldwide greenhouse gas emissions and air pollutants. This is also the case in Austria. According to the federal minister for sustainability and tourism, "strengthening e-mobility is an essential instrument for achieving these goals".¹  As such, e-mobility is a core element of the Austrian climate and energy strategy.²

One of the main strategies to reduce air pollutants (eg, nitrogen dioxide) under the Air Immission Protection Act³ is the introduction of speed restrictions on motorways and expressways to minimise air pollutant emissions from diesel and petrol cars.⁴The speed limits introduced under the act are based on the legal authorisation of the federal state governors in Section 14 of the act.⁵These actions have been taken in order to comply with the thresholds defined in the EU Air Quality Directive.⁶