The 'pollution permit' granted since 2016 to the car industry for real driving emissions testing of light-duty vehicles (RDE) is flawed and its phase-out should therefore start immediately, T&E said on Friday 21 February, on the basis of a report published this week by the Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC).
This long-awaited report had been delayed (see EUROPE 12410/13). The latest scientific data it contains confirms that the gap between laboratory and road tests is as high as 32% in the worst-case scenario. In doing so, the JRC validates the assumption of a maximum conformity factor of 1.32 and not 1.43 as proposed by the European Commission for nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions. The conformity factor defines the permissible deviation between the regulatory emission limit and the values measured on the road.
"Due to the car industry’s lobbying, the research comes at the last possible moment. The results clearly show that real-driving emissions tests are accurate and there should be no ‘license to pollute’ for carmakers. Lawmakers need to phase it out now", says Jens Müller, air quality manager at T&E, in a statement. The NGO regrets that this late publication does not leave enough time for the Parliament and the EU Council to analyse it before deciding on the new regulatory limit values for NOx emissions.
Recalling that the Commission has announced an action plan for zero pollution in the framework of the European Green Deal and has committed itself to move towards zero emission mobility after 2025, the NGO, which campaigns for sustainable transport, believes that "the next EURO standard should be the last one before we reach the zero emission level".
For the record, the Commission proposal aims to reintroduce, through ordinary legislative procedure, the conformity factors adopted in comitology (excluding the European Parliament) - namely 2.1 for new cars up to 2020 and 1.43 after 2020 - and thus to implement a judgment of the Court of Justice (see EUROPE 12275/15).
In 2016, Member States and the Commission had decided that cars could emit 50% more than the legal limit for NOx (80 mg/km) during road tests due to uncertainties related to portable measurement equipment (PEMS).
Parliament's Transport Committee supported the Commission's proposal, much to the chagrin of its Chair, Karima Delli (Greens/EFA, France) (see EUROPE 12429/9). The Environment Committee will vote on 18 or 19 March on the basis of the report by Esther de Lange (EPP, Netherlands), which proposes lowering the conformity factor annually from 2021 (see EUROPE 12410/13).
For the Joint Research Centre report: http://bit.ly/2PajSB6 (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)