Record Number of Cities Impose Car-Free Sundays to Promote Sustainability and Environmental Protection

More than 70 municipalities adopted Car-Free Sunday during European Mobility Week, promoting Sunday as a day for creation care and environmental sustainability. This initiative coincides with the Season of Creation, an annual month-long environmental advocacy campaign held from September 1 to October 4, that calls on people to work toward protecting the environment. Strongly promoted by Pope Francis through his papal encyclical Laudato Si’, this global initiative encourages churches and civil authorities to incorporate environmental protection and sustainability efforts into their respective communities.

On September 20, 2026, Belga News Agency published the following:

• “More than seventy cities and municipalities nationwide are hosting the annual Car-Free Sunday today, setting a new record. In Brussels, the entire region will be temporarily closed to vehicular traffic from the morning for Car-Free Sunday.” [1]

• “Car-Free Sunday is part of the Mobility Week, 16-22 September.” [1]

On September 19, 2026, the Brussels Morning newspaper connected Car-Free Sunday with the broader European Mobility Week initiative, showing that Sunday slowdowns promote sustainability and the care of creation:

• “Brussels Car-Free Sunday will close the entire Brussels-Capital Region to most motorized traffic on Sunday, 20 September, as the Belgian capital gives its streets over to pedestrians, cyclists and other forms of sustainable transport. Restrictions will operate from 9.30am until 7pm, while public transport will be free throughout the day.” [2]

• “Brussels Car-Free Sunday forms the centerpiece of European Mobility Week, which is running from 16 to 22 September.” [2]

• “European Mobility Week will continue until Tuesday, 22 September, with Brussels authorities using the annual program to promote more sustainable ways of travelling around the capital.” [2]

The local press reported that authorities are using the Car-Free Sunday program to promote environmental sustainability. This development reflects the vision outlined in Rome’s papal encyclicals, which call upon governments to adopt policies that protect our common home. What makes this particularly significant is that civil authorities are designating Sunday as a day for environmental action, setting it apart through law in the name of caring for creation.

This raises important questions about the growing connection between Sunday observance, environmental protection, and the role of civil government in establishing a common day of rest. While churches promote creation care through Sunday worship, governments are setting aside the same day through environmental policies. This mixing between church and state deserves scrutiny, especially when environmental policies become law. When that happens, Sunday is no longer only a worship question. It becomes a civil requirement sold as care for creation.

The seventh-day Sabbath is God’s established memorial of Creation and a sign of Christ’s Lordship over all creation. At the very beginning, God blessed and sanctified the seventh day, setting it apart as a day of sacred rest (Genesis 2:1–3). In the fourth commandment, He calls us to remember the Sabbath because He created the heavens, the earth, the sea, and all that is in them (Exodus 20:8–11). Jesus Himself declared that He is “Lord also of the sabbath” (Mark 2:28), affirming His divine authority over the very day He established. The Sabbath is also a sign of our relationship with God, identifying Him as the One who sanctifies His people (Ezekiel 20:12, 20).

We do not need Sunday to replace what God has already established in His Word concerning rest, creation, and obedience. The Creator has already designated a day for us to remember His creative power, rest from ordinary labor, worship Him, and acknowledge His authority. That day is the seventh-day Sabbath, not the first day of the week. Environmental concerns do not provide a biblical basis for transferring the sacredness of the seventh day to Sunday. True worship honors the Creator not by substituting a different day for the one He blessed, but by remembering and keeping holy the Sabbath He Himself established.