Salvini saved Euro 5 vehicles, while the Lazio region saved Euro 4 vehicles in Rome.
After Salvini, Francesco Rocca, president of the Lazio region, allows polluting vehicles to circulate unchecked. While the transport minister saved Euro 5 diesel vehicles in the Padan basin, Rocca permits Euro 4 vehicles in Rome’s Ztl. Vehicles in four northern regions must comply with time restrictions—from Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.—yet they can drive freely in the capital.
President Rocca: “This plan would have put hundreds of thousands of Romans in difficulty.”
If Rome’s mayor, Roberto Ruggeri, has been charging less for electric cars than for conventional vehicles in the ZTL area since July, Lazio region president Francesco Rocca is celebrating the use of EURO 4 vehicles. The inevitable economic considerations are not overlooked. “It’s a concrete response to the concerns of many families and businesses. Cars are essential for working, taking children to school, or caring for family members, and replacing them represents a costly expense.” While the economic challenges cannot be denied, this measure has been in place in the North for years.
And so everyone celebrates the approval: the regional council, just like in previous years, uses the same wording and repeats the same arguments. “For thousands of families across Lazio, a car is not a luxury but a necessity. We have amended the regional air quality plan to allow municipalities to adopt alternative measures to general bans, as long as they ensure the same environmental effectiveness, as proven by technical and scientific evidence.”
A incentives plan to replace polluting boilers, cars, and buses
What to do? “We should pair new regulations with investments and incentives that promote cleaner and more sustainable mobility. I thank Deputy Elena Palazzo for her work. We want to help people make the ecological transition by offering concrete and affordable alternatives.” This is the general approach, but what about specifics? It involves 25 million euros allocated under the agreement with the Ministry of Environment and Energy Security for Rome and the Valle del Sacco.
Will there be a ban on Euro 5 diesel starting in October? Piedmont is bypassing this with a biodiesel bonus.
Among the measures are 10 million for replacing the most polluting commercial vehicles, incentives for upgrading boilers in the Valle del Sacco, with funding continuing into 2027 as well. Additionally, “the region is also working to allocate significant resources made available by the government for modernizing the most polluting means of transport and facilities in local public transit, as well as old boilers in buildings used for public housing.”
According to the region, “the data confirm progress: in 2025 all regulatory limits on air quality were met, and in the August 2026 update, average concentrations of PM10 and nitrogen dioxide were about 2% lower than the previous year.” That’s good, but the problem doesn’t disappear, and the energy transition remains very slow.
READ ALSO: End to Euro 5 diesel? “It’s unacceptable, the Val Padana is suffocating” and watch the VIDEO
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