Brief overview of EU legislation and future outlook
Regulatory framework for air pollutants
The European Commission has set as a priority the protection of air quality and the reduction of GHG emissions. To this aim emission standards for all types of road vehicles have been set. Under EU legislation new vehicles must be tested and verified that they are compliant with the environmental, security and safety standards, before being put on the market. In this process, a ‘representative’ sample of every production vehicle is selected and considered representative of this vehicle type. If the sample tested is compliant with the standards, ‘type approval’ is granted and the whole production type is verified for sale on the EU market.
As far back as the 1990’s, air pollutant emissions of new European passenger cars, have been regulated under the type approval framework, under which the vehicle emissions limits and testing conditions are defined. This legal framework is based on the so-called Euro emission standards which define the acceptable limits of cars’ exhaust emissions before they can put on sale. Petrol and diesel cars are subject to slightly different limits. The Euro standards have delivered significant reductions in the emissions of all air pollutants over the years.
Starting with Euro 1 and followed by successive more stringent standards, all the way up to Euro 6, the latest emission standards applying to all new cars registered after September 2014. They replaced the previous set of Euro 5 limits, particularly tightening the restrictions on diesels. For a diesel to be Euro 6 compliant it cannot emit more than 80mg/km of NOx, while a petrol can emit no more than 60mg/km.
The Euro 6 test became more stringent from September 2017 with the addition of an extended on-road emission test known as Real Driving Emissions or RDE. The RDE was introduced in two steps, known as Euro 6d-temp and Euro 6d. The Euro 6d standard is required for all new cars to be type approved from January 2020, setting limits for PM and NOx emissions for diesel cars. These limits are 40 times lower than in Euro 1 for NOx and 10 times lower for PM, as illustrated in the following figure.
NOx+HC and PM emission limits of diesel passenger cars
Regulatory framework for GHG emissions
The EU has set mandatory GHG emission targets for new cars and vans sold on the European market with the aim to reduce GHG emissions from road vehicles. The aim is to achieve an intermediate GHG reduction target of 55% by 2030 relative to 1990 and climate neutrality in 2050. To achieve this the Commission has set mandatory emission reduction targets for new cars and vans in Regulation (EU) 2019/631. The EU fleet-wide average emission target for new cars is 95 g CO2/km and 147 g CO2/km for vans in 2021. From 2030 onwards new cars will emit on average 37.5% less CO2 and new vans will emit on average 31% less CO2 compared to these 2021 levels. In addition to this, there is an intermediate target for 2025, which requires both cars and vans to emit 15% less CO2. More recently, CO2 emission reduction targets were also adopted for heavy-duty vehicles. New lorries will have to achieve a 15% reduction from 2025 onwards, and a 30% reduction from 2030 onwards. Similar to cars and vans, these are fleet-wide average targets.
Regulatory framework for fuel quality
It is not only vehicles that have to comply with strict EU regulation. Fuels used for road transport in the EU have also to meet strict quality requirements to protect human health and the environment and make sure that vehicles can safely travel from one country to another. The Fuel Quality Directive has contributed to the drastic reduction of air pollutant emissions, mainly by phasing out lead and sulphur from automotive fuels. Lead-free and sulphur-free fuels have enabled the introduction and wide-spread application of exhaust aftertreatment devices such as catalysts and particulate filters. The common fuel quality rules have also helped reducing GHG emissions over the years.
Future outlook
The European Commission, in view of a cleaner road transport future, is in the process of setting new pollutant emission standards for passenger cars. The European Commission has set its eyes on the development and implementation of a future Euro 7 which aims to regain technological and regulatory leadership and align standards with its new “European Green Deal” initiative. Among other actions, the “European Green Deal” aims at addressing emissions, urban congestion and improve public transport with the objective of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 (European Commission, 2020).
Euro 7 emissions standards and testing provisions should be able to guarantee that a vehicle is as clean as possible under a larger set of real-world conditions. To this end, the RDE test is expected be the main type approval process combined with lower emission limits, technology neutrality, the addition of new pollutant species and extended durability requirements.