European Parliament backs weaker emissions regulations

Will essentially keep regulations in line with current Euro 6 limits

European Parliament backs weaker emissions regulations

MEPs have backed diluted emissions regulations changes following concerns raised by European car manufacturing nations.

At the end of last year, the European Commission began discussing the most ambitious Euro 7 standards to date, with the promise of more stringent testing, large reductions in exhaust emissions and new measures to reduce emissions from tyres and brakes.

But earlier this month, the European Council voted in favour of a revised version of Euro 7 that will essentially keep regulations in line with current Euro 6 limits for passenger vehicles. This followed pressure from eight European nations, including France, Germany and Italy.

The car manufacturers argued that meeting the targets would draw investment away from electric vehicles to ICE compliance. They also said that tougher regulations would result in a fall in the number of Euro 6 vehicles, keeping older, more polluting cars on the road.

Euro 6 will now be repealed in July 2030 for passenger cars and July 2031 for buses and heavy-duties, later than the proposed dates of 2025 and 2027 respectively, as laid out by the European Commission.

MEPs have announced new measures to reduce emissions from tyres and brakes, as well as tougher requirements for battery durability.

Other proposed measures include:

  • An up-to-date environmental vehicle passport (EVP) containing information such as fuel economy, battery health, emissions limits and periodic technical inspections results.
  • Stricter lifetime requirements for vehicles, engines and pollution control systems.
  • Obligation to install on-board systems for monitoring several parameters such as excess exhaust emissions, real-world fuel and energy consumption, and traction battery health.
  • Specific rules for small and ultra-small volume manufacturers.

Alexandr Vondra of the European Conservatives and Reformists Group said: “We have successfully struck a balance between environmental goals and the vital interests of manufacturers.

”It would be counterproductive to implement environmental policies that harm both Europe’s industry and its citizens. Through our compromise, we serve the interests of all parties involved and steer clear of extreme positions.”

In response to the watered-down regulations, Anna Krajinska, vehicle emissions and air quality manager at Transport & Environment, said: “By caving into automaker threats, our politicians are condemning  people to avoidable ill health and  premature death for decades to come.

“It gives carmakers a license to greenwash polluting Euro 6 cars as ‘clean’ Euro 7 without delivering any added reduction in toxic tailpipe pollution. Cars approved under such a weak proposal should not be labeled as Euro 7.

“Instead, they should be labelled as Euro 6f to reflect only the minor improvements to emissions monitoring, anti-tampering measures and non-exhaust emissions.” 

The European Parliament report is set to be adopted in November before negotiations begin with EU member governments. Final arrangements are expected in mid-2024, before the legislation takes effect from July 2025.

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