Kcome. Comes later. Does not come. Come, but differently than expected. This is how you could describe the tug-of-war over the new Euro 7 emissions directive, which is to be presented by the EU Commission on Wednesday. Essential details are known in advance.
How strict are the new limits?
For the time being, the current limit values of the Euro 6d final level should continue to apply to cars and vans. The Commission justifies this step with the rising prices and does not want to burden car buyers even more. In any case, according to the present draft, after 2035 cars and delivery vans with internal combustion engines would no longer be brought onto the market. Nevertheless, from the middle of the decade only Euro 7 vehicles can be registered, and they have to meet higher requirements. In addition, the Commission is to be authorized to issue stricter limit values in future using a simplified procedure. However, member states and the European Parliament retain the right to object.
How has the air quality developed?
Pollution at the roadside has steadily decreased in recent years. According to the Federal Environment Agency, only three measuring stations in the country exceeded the permitted annual mean value of 40 micrograms per cubic meter in 2021. In 2017, this still applied to 65 stations. The balance sheet for fine dust is even better, with not a single measuring point in the past year exceeding the limit. Not only traffic-calming measures are responsible for the decline, but also the increasing market penetration of cars with modern exhaust technology. According to figures from the Federal Motor Transport Authority, four out of ten cars on German roads already met the Euro 6 standard at the beginning of the year. A simulation by the Technical University of Graz also shows that the pollutant load at the Neckartor in Stuttgart would drop by 93 percent compared to the values of 2016 if only vehicles that meet the current standard passed through.
Why a new policy?
Despite the declining pollution levels, there was and is criticism of the current guideline. This can be roughly divided into three directions: First, the emissions would not always be complied with in reality. This applies in particular to very short journeys, such as the journey to the bakery in the neighboring town on Sunday morning. Secondly, it is inadmissible to only look at the emissions from combustion engines, since electric vehicles also contribute to fine dust pollution through brake and tire wear. And third, the prescribed procedures for testing and approval are too complex. The Commission intends to react to all three points by introducing the Euro 7 standard.
How should emissions tests become more realistic?
Even today, a car is only type-approved if the manufacturer can prove by means of tests on public roads that the new model complies with the pollutant limit values. Boundary conditions apply to these tests, which are to be significantly tightened in the future. Exact values are not part of the guideline, they are still to be worked out in an expert committee. A presentation by the team leader responsible in the EU Commission, given to representatives of the catalyst manufacturers in July, shows where the journey could lead. The most challenging are the extreme tests, in which the limit specified for normal driving may be exceeded by a maximum of a factor of two. These values would also have to be met by a fully loaded car that starts at an outside temperature of minus ten degrees Celsius and then drives uphill for a distance of three kilometers at 160 km/h.
#Draft #Commission #Euro #emissions #regulation #brings