The European Commission (EC) has decided not to go ahead with a plan for stricter car emissions standards. This is in part due to the efforts of powerful EU automotive lobbies. Environmental activists have reacted angrily to the U-turn in the face of the growing environmental crisis.
According to internal EC documents leaked by Politico, the commission now intends to water down its plans to implement stricter Euro 7 emissions standards which would have demanded a reduction in air pollution for all types of combustion engines.
“Profit is more important than the health of millions of Europeans,” green NGO Transport and Environment’s emissions specialist, Anna Krajinksa, said in a press release. “This is the European Commission’s very own ‘dieselgate‘ moment. The fact it ignores… advice is outrageous.”
Weak Regulations
The new Euro 7 were originally intended to set strict, sweeping limits on nitrogen oxides and particulate matter. Unlike the previous standard, Euro 7 will now also account for particulate matter created by the tires and brakes of vehicles.
The leaked commission documents suggest that the new standards will demand that new diesel vehicles meet the same emissions standards as petrol vehicles under Euro 6 emissions standards. Yet these are less ambitious reductions than previously proposed.
Under the current Euro 6 regulations, diesel vehicles cannot emit more than 80 milligrams per kilometre of NOx gases. Petrol vehicles can release no more than 60mg/km. Euro 7 would therefore set the limit for new diesel vehicles at 60mg/km.
Euro 6 standards are credited with a 22% decrease in NOx emissions from cars and vans. This number is 36% from trucks and buses in 2014-2020. In the same period, particulate emissions dropped by 28% for light vehicles and 14% for heavy vehicles.
According to the draft law The EC is to rethink the ambition of its new emissions standard. This is because of the war in Ukraine, supply chain difficulties, and rising costs.
“In the light of the current geopolitical and economic circumstances, a final review has been made to ensure up-to-date considerations for the automotive industry and consumers… Demand and sales of motor vehicles have dropped and the investment needs for the green transformation are increasing,” the document stated.
Car Lobbying
The Commission’s revision of emission standards is an effort “to improve the affordability of cars and vans.” It is a win for car manufacturers who will have to adhere to less rigorous criteria. Also for the lobbyists who petitioned the EC against ambitious emissions targets.
For months, the car lobby has argued that Euro 7 reductions are unnecessary. On 25 October, CEO of automotive company Stellantis, Carlos Tavares, argued that Euro 7 plans were a “diversion from the major goal of electrification.”
“I don’t think Europe needs Euro 7… it is going to divert part of our research and development power to something we don’t need, while our Chinese competitors enter the market with the single technology of battery-electric vehicles,” Tavares said at a conference in Berlin.
Car manufacturers have openly lobbied against tightened emissions regulations for several years. The European Automobile Manufacturers Association is one of the largest lobbying forces in the EU. Itspends around €2.75 million each year. This is more than double the amount of the largest digital sector trade association.
According to Kraijinska, the auto industry lobby had “fiercely opposed Euro 7, using a variety of dirty tricks to influence decision-makers.” Now, the commission has given into their demands. “If they won’t improve the shockingly weak proposal for cars and vans, it should be scrapped entirely,” Krajinksa argued.
Running Out Of Time
The Commission’s Transport and Environment department states that the new lax emissions standards will lead to an additional 100 million polluting cars on the road. The group estimates that emissions from road transport accounted for around 70,000 premature deaths each year. Nitrogen oxides and particulate matter are a bit part of the cause.
The new Euro 7 draft law is expected to be published by the Commission on 9 November. It is planned to enter into force in 2025. The EU intends to slowly phase out the sale of new internal-combustion vehicles by 2035.
By 2035, new vehicles on the EU market will need to reduce their CO2 emissions by 100%. The car lobby has repeatedly pushed back against these plans, arguing that advancements in the accessibility of electric vehicles need to be made before such a ban can take place.
Even so, Poliscanova and some other experts worried that the measures were still too slow. Though they would be a step toward sustainable transportation. Manufacturers that produce smaller fleets of less than 10,000 cars or 22,000 vans annually are to have lower targets. At least initially they will.
This means that niche manufacturers, including high-end brands such as Lamborghini and Ferrari, will be given more leeway on an interim target for 2030, though they will eventually be expected to reach the final target by 2035.
Help The Environment
After months of negotiations, the European Union reached a political agreement to effectively ban new nonelectric cars from 2035 onward. Many climate change campaigners, who hoped other governments would follow in the E.U.’s footsteps in effectively banning new gas and diesel vehicles, welcomed the news as a step towards to reducing emissions.
“The days of the carbon-spewing, pollution-belching combustion engine are finally numbered,” Julia Poliscanova, senior director for vehicles and e-mobility at Brussels-based campaign group Transport & Environment. “It’s 125 years since Rudolf Diesel revolutionized engine efficiency, but lawmakers have decided the next chapter will be written by the cleaner, better electric vehicle.”
The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association cautiously welcomed the decision, which they said was “far-reaching” and “without precedent.” Oliver Zipse, the group’s president, said he needed to see how the EU would help the industry with the transition. This includes sources of renewable energy, public charging infrastructure and access to raw materials.
“Make no mistake, the European automobile industry is up to the challenge of providing these zero-emission cars and vans,” said Zipse, who is also chief executive of German automotive giant BMW. “However, we are now keen to see the framework conditions which are essential to meet this target reflected in EU policies.”
Is Price An Issue?
On the other foot, some conservatives are critics of the legislation. They suggested that a shift toward all-electric vehicles would increase the cost of new cars in Europe. However, this is based on current technology. It also ignores the hidden cost of polluting vehicles. Electric cars and vans will be cheaper to make than fossil-fuel vehicles across Europe by 2027. This is according to a new BloombergNEF study commissioned by Transport & Environment (T&E). The research found that battery electric vehicles could reach 100% of new sales across the EU by 2035. This is if lawmakers introduce measures like tighter vehicle CO2 targets and strong support for charging infrastructure. T&E called on the EU to tighten emissions targets in the 2020s. They set 2035 as the end date for selling new polluting vehicles.
