Brussels, 29/10/2015 (Agence Europe) - EU28 experts meeting at the Technical Committee on Motor Vehicles reached an agreement on Wednesday 28 October on the modalities to be included in the Real Driving Emissions tests. These were, however, somewhat watered-down compared to the European Commission's proposals (see EUROPE 11417).
The ceilings on nitrous oxide limiting emissions (NOX) will be phased in in two different stages. First of all, manufacturers will have to reduce the difference between gas pollutant emission measures in the laboratory and in real driving conditions to a compliance factor of a maximum of 2.1 or 110% higher than the laboratory results for new vehicle models as from September 2017 and September 2019 for all new vehicles. Secondly, the differences measured should be related to a factor of 1.5 or 50%, by taking into account the technical margins of error in January 2020 for new models and January 2021 for all new vehicles.
In a press release, the European Commission welcomed the news and said that “Today's agreement by Member States…is still a significant reduction compared to the current discrepancy (400% on average)”. Nonetheless, these agreements are well below what the Commission originally proposed. It should be pointed out that the Commission wanted a 60% ceiling limit between September 2017 and September 2019, then 20% afterwards.
It is true that the Commission appeared to want an agreement at any price at the Committee, in an effort to avoid the project having to go to the Council and having to undergo subsequently lengthy committee procedures. Elzbieta Bienkowska, the commissioner for the internal market and industry, repeated during the press conference on Wednesday 28 October that she was determined that they would be “ready for December”. The Commission has effectively been working since 2011 on the RDE tests and initially wanted to launch them at the end of 2014.
This agreement, however, appears to have significantly upset some sections of the European Parliament, which on Tuesday 27 October, adopted a resolution on the emissions measure in the automobile sector, particularly as a means of extending the RDE tests to CO2 emissions (see EUROPE 11419). Karima Delli (Greens/EFA, France) said: “The member states are conniving behind citizens' backs and cunningly arranging European legislation to protect the car lobby in total denial of justice”. The Liberals sounded the same note and Gerben-Jan Gerbrandy (ALDE, the Netherlands) explained: “Today's decision on new car emission tests is contemptible. Allowing car manufacturers to completely disregard car standards for another five years is terrible news for our environment and for consumer trust in European car brands”. Françoise Grossetête (EPP, France) informed EUROPE that she was not surprised at the member states' decision, “with regard to the tests carried out in real driving conditions, it seems logical to raise the emissions ceilings that have so far applied to situations that are very far removed from real driving conditions. We want to be both pragmatic and ambitious and it is pointless to set out targets with which no one will be able to comply”. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)