EC Advances Proposal to Reduce Vehicle NOx Emissions in 2012
December 16, 2008 // Published as a news service by IHS
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On Dec. 16, the European Parliament (EP) voted to support the proposal by the European Commission (EC) to reduce, starting in 2012, nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from trucks and busses by 80% and particulate matter by 66%.
The proposal will also add to the competitiveness of the European automotive industry through the introduction of world-wide harmonized test procedures and standards.
At the same time, current legislation will be simplified because directives, which up to now need to be transposed into 27 different national legislation, will be replaced by regulations that are directly applicable.
European Union (EU) member states and their citizens are concerned about the impacts of air pollution on human health and the environment. Although air quality has improved over the past decade, there are still significant air quality problems throughout the EU, especially in urban areas and in densely populated regions.
To address this problem, the Euro VI proposal, due to enter into force at the end of 2012, lays down common EU rules on heavy motor vehicles and their engines with regard to pollutant emissions.
In particular, the proposal foresees a reduction of 80% in nitrogen oxides and 66% in particulate matter emissions, compared to the Euro V stage limits, which entered into force in October 2008.
In addition to more stringent limit values, the new proposal introduces provisions on off-cycle emissions, on-board diagnostics, access to repair information, durability and replacement of pollution control devices, conformity of in-service engines and vehicles, CO2 emissions and fuel consumption measurement.
The proposal also foresees the introduction of a particle number limit value. These measures aim at reinforcing the effectiveness of legislation on heavy vehicle emissions.
The proposal was developed following the EU principles of "better regulation" and the recommendations from the High Level Group for Competitive Automotive Regulatory System for the 21st Century (CARS 21). In particular:
- Feedback received in the public consultation was fully taken into account.
- The proposed standards provide high cost-benefit value according to the evaluation made through an impact assessment.
- The current directives will be repealed and replaced by directly applicable regulations, thus reducing the delays inherent in the transposition of directives.
- The proposal introduces global harmonized test procedures and standards with limit values equivalent to those of the United States.
The EP vote is based on a compromise reached with EU member states, who are expected to adopt the package shortly.
"Today's agreement of the European Parliament is a good message for the environment. Soon we will have cleaner trucks and buses, which will be trendsetters worldwide," said EC vice president, Günter Verheugen, responsible for enterprise and industry.
"As agreed in CARS 21, we are creating a win-win situation - we strengthen the competitiveness of our producers, we keep jobs in Europe and we improve the environmental performance. This legislation is also an example of better regulation. I invite the EU states to support this ambitious legislation."
For more information, see the EC web page on European Community strategy to reduce CO2 emissions from cars.
Source: European Commission.
IHS Information and Insight
This article was published to make you aware of documents available from IHS on the subject.
Top Document Collections (available by subscription)
- SAE Digital Library - includes technical papers addressing emissions, emissions control systems and emissions testing.
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Top Individual Documents (available online from the IHS Store)
- EU 2006/51/EC - COMMISSION DIRECTIVE amending for the purposes of adapting to technical progress Annex I to Directive 2005/55/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and Annexes IV and V to Directive 2005/78/EC as regards requirements for the emission control monitoring system for use in vehicles and exemptions for gas engines.
- ASTM D 4814 - Standard Specification for Automotive Spark-Ignition Engine Fuel