Brussels, 26/04/2016 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 26 April in Brussels, another step was made to put the brakes on air pollution from lawnmowers, bulldozers, tractors, locomotives, inland riverboats and other non-road machinery.
MEPs from the European Parliament Environment Committee, chaired by Giovanni La Via (EPP, Italy), almost unanimously approved the informal inter-institutional agreement reached on 7 April on the reduction of polluting emissions, the update and simplification of the requirements relating to emission limits and type approval for internal combustion engines for non-road mobile machinery (NRMM) (see EUROPE 11526).
Rapporteur Elisabetta Gardini MEP said "It is of the utmost importance since these engines contribute significantly to a pollution and are accountable for roughly 15% of NOx and 5% of PM emissions in the EU. Thanks to the result of the trilogy negotiations confirmed today, we have succeeded in striking the right balance between the protection of the environment, the health of EU citizens and the competitiveness of the EU industry".
The regulation imposes the strictest limits on nitric oxide emissions (NOx), hydrocarbons (HC), carbon monoxide (CO) and particles for adapting to new technologies. In this connection, directive 97/68/EC was obsolete and the rapporteur points out that "Europe will have the strictest emission limits in the world as from 2019".
The text also includes a new monitoring system for assessing the engines' performance in real life, in an effort to rectify the shortfall between laboratory trials.
The Commission will assess the possibility of introducing harmonised measures to the installation of retrofit emission control devices on engines, as sought by the European Parliament. A revision clause is also planned for further emissions reductions later.
SMEs will have a longer period for adapting to the new limits imposed by the regulation. Exemptions will be included to respond to specific needs relating to the Armed Forces, logistical supply constraints, prototype tests and the use of NRMM in explosive atmospheres. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)