On Wednesday 29 August, the Transport & Environment organisation published a study in which it revealed that emissions fraud during car manufacturers’ approval tests had cost EU drivers around €149.6 billion between 2000 and 2017. The organisation promotes green transport in Europe and explained “Whilst new car CO2 emissions measured using the obsolete laboratory test (NEDC) have fallen by 31% since 2000, on the road the reduction is just 10%”.
The organisation asserted that the gap between test and real-world performance has leapt from 9% in 2000 to 42% in 2017. According to the Transport & Environment group’s calculations, had the gap remained constant there would have been 264 Mt CO2eq less cumulative emissions over the same period. The additional fuel burned to produce these emissions also cost European consumers an extra €150 billion.
Transport & Environment argues that the introduction of the new WLTP approval tests contain a number of flaws because it creates new flexibilities that the car industry is exploiting, as recently discovered by the European Commission (see EUROPE 12070).
The organisation calls for the co-legislators to take action to rectify existing loopholes and therefore help the EU to save an additional 108 Mt CO2eq in emissions between 2020 and 2030. If nothing is done, T&E anticipates that these emissions would cost drivers an extra €57 billion and emissions will only reduce by 12% over the next decade. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)