Copenhagen’s first “green traffic road” experiment was unsuccessful, raising challenges to achieve zero emissions goal

Written by: Johannes Hagelsø and Elaine Uen Ling Lai

The City Council of Copenhagen has voted to end its green traffic road experiment on Stefansgade, Nørrebro. Still, the officials are eager to evolve Copenhagen into a “zero emissions city” despite facing criticism on actual execution.

The green traffic road, where only zero-emission vehicles were allowed to drive, was launched in March 2023 and ran through December 2024. However, the Technical and Environmental Committee for the City of Copenhagen has voted to waive the trial of the green traffic road this Monday.

“There was never a proper original intention for Stefansgade,” said Astrid Aller, from the Technical and Environmental Committee in Copenhagen Municipality. “I don’t think Stefansgade was the right place to do it.”

The trial was intended “to reduce fossil fuel traffic, improve conditions for cyclists and pedestrians, and gather data on public behavior in response to environmental traffic restrictions,” according to the evaluation documents released by the City Council.

However, city officials observed that compliance was low and enforcement practically nonexistent.

“I think the fact that the police reported quickly that they didn’t have any plans to do anything, and that they wouldn’t have given people any fines if they didn’t follow the rules, affected people’s motivation to drive around it,” Aller explained.

Source: Technical and Environmental Management, Copenhagen Municipality

The experiment doesn’t have to be for naught, experts say

Despite the poor compliance, the trial did result in some measurable shifts. 

Official documents show the proportion of zero emission vehicles on Stefansgade increased by 17.3% from 2022 to 2024, and there was a small drop in motor vehicle traffic, with a modest rise in bicycle use.

Christian Poll, an Environmental and sustainability expert from the Technical University of Denmark, said such trials must be carefully planned to have useful results.

“Because you’re not dealing with actual rules yet, you’re trying something to see if it works. Therefore, you probably can’t enforce it as strictly as if you drove over a physical barrier,” he said.

Poll emphasised the importance of establishing clear expectations before launching such initiatives.

“Hopefully, they would create an experimental design before the start. It is essential to consider both the expected impacts and potential side effects,” Poll added.

Nørrebro Local Committee has proposed using license plate recognition for future initiatives. They also suggested accelerating the green transition, including making Jagtvej, a major artery in the Nørrebro and Østerbro districts as a zero-emission zone. 

Official hopes to make Copenhagen completely fossil-free

Copenhagen has always been regarded as the greenest city in the world, ranking as top 3 Sustainable cities in the Arcadis Sustainable Cities Index 2024.

As the municipality aims to be the first carbon-neutral capital in 2025, Copenhagen’s next step could be the creation of larger zero emission zones—a move now permitted by the Danish Parliament. 

“What makes the most sense is to create zones instead of individual roads,” Aller said, “we hope to make zero emission zones in all of Copenhagen so that the city becomes completely fossil-free”.

Ambition to be a ‘zero-emissions city’ could be a nightmare for small businesses

Harry, a contractor who drives his diesel vehicle over Copenhagen, said the prohibition of non-electric cars would make his work much more challenging, as it would be hard to deliver and park the goods. 

“The market of electric vehicles in Denmark is still small compared to other types of vehicles, so it is costly to have an electric vehicle,” he added. 

According to the European Commission Consumer Monitor 2023, price is the top disadvantage of driving electric vehicles, where over half of the respondents think electric vehicles are too expensive. 

Currently, Denmark only offers tax incentives rather than subsidies, such as a complete exemption from registration taxes for battery electric vehicles.

While the Stefansgade experiment may not have successfully changed driver behavior, it has led the municipality to reevaluate its approach to implementing climate initiatives both at the street level and more broadly.

However, how did the residents perceive the green traffic road and the city’s ambition to achieve zero emissions? Our reporters visited Stefansgade to gather their insights. Watch the video here:

This story is for an audience in Europe and could be published on Euronews English or a local newspaper such as The Copenhagen Post or an international media like The Guardian, that publishes stories from abroad that show international politics and policy, and they also cover environmental and climate change topics.