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NEWS FROM EUROPE
Real Driving Emissions tests
Automobile industry reiterates call for urgent clarity on RDE
Source: ACEA - 02/02/2016
Ahead of the vote on real driving emissions (RDE) in the European Parliament tomorrow, the
European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) reiterates its call for urgent clarity
so manufacturers can plan the development and design of vehicles in line with the new RDE
requirements.
RDE will introduce a completely new testing method for vehicles on the road. Europe is the first and only
region in the world to introduce such a system, which will lead to major progress in improving air quality.
While the current proposal takes into account error margins in the new measuring equipment, vehicle
manufacturers will have to aim well below the legal limit to ensure compliance. Moreover, the error margin
will be reviewed and, as the equipment improves in precision, the conformity factor will be tightened.
“Looking at the timescale for RDE, the proposal represents a tremendous challenge for Europe’s car
manufacturers in terms of timing and investments, but the industry is absolutely ready to take it up,”
stated ACEA Secretary General, Erik Jonnaert.
A rejection of the member states’ decision by the European Parliament would increase uncertainty for the
industry and leave little time to make the necessary changes to vehicles and assembly lines. “Ultimately,
it would delay improvements to air quality, particularly in cities,” said Jonnaert.
Press Release
Car emissions testing must be brought into 21st century
Source: ECRGroup - 02/02/2016
European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group MEPs are warning that a rejection of
changes to car emissions testing procedures could delay improvements to air quality.
The European Parliament will tomorrow (Wednesday) vote on a proposal to block the introduction of socalled “Real Driving Emissions” (RDE) testing.
RDE tests aim to ensure that emissions tests take place in real-world operating conditions, and are
expected to help address the problem of high nitrogen dioxide emissions from diesel vehicles. This is a
big change from the current “Type Approval” testing which only uses laboratory tests.
A committee of experts has said that real-world emissions of Nitrogen Dioxide should be phased in
between 2017 and 2020 but has not identified an end date by which a variance from the norm would be
set at zero.
The blocking proposal has been put forward by MEPs who claim that these limits are excessive.
ECR Environment Spokesman Julie Girling MEP said: “Concerns about the limits proposed are valid, but
blocking the whole process of moving to RDE would be throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
“Instead, the concerns about emissions should be dealt with in parallel to the new tests being introduced.
“RDE for new cars will bring clear reductions in emissions of Nitrogen Dioxide and improve air quality
therefore delaying its introduction by months, or even years, is not the right response.
“Emissions testing rules have not changed for almost thirty years, and it is vital that the European
Parliament endorses this latest step towards improving the testing regime.”
Alasdair Rendall
Parliament decides not to veto car emissions test update
Source: EuropeanParliament - 03/02/2016
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A move to veto a plan to temporarily raise NOx emission limits for diesel cars was rejected by
MEPs on Wednesday, after the EU Commission promised a review clause and tabled a longterm legislative proposal to revamp the EU car approval regime.
F This followed pressure from Parliament in the wake of the Volkswagen scandal.
“Intense negotiations took place with the European Commission and member states after the Environment
Committee backed the objection, and the European Commission delivered” said Environment Committee
chair Giovanni La Via (EPP, IT). “We now have clear commitments from the European Commission for a
review clause with a precise timeframe, in order to bring down the maximum emission values to the levels
which were agreed upon by co-legislators. A proposal for a long-term reform of the EU approval regime
for cars is also on the table, as requested by Parliament”, he added.
“I therefore welcome the responsible decision from the plenary, which will allow us to go ahead with the
RDE procedure in order to bring down NOx emissions from cars which are, at the moment, 400 to 500%
above the official limits. We have avoided uncertainties, because industry now has strict but sustainable
deadlines to meet. In Europe, we will have better air quality for our citizens without losing jobs”, he
concluded.
According to the European Commission, the transitional relaxation of limits is justified by the need to take
account of technical uncertainties to do with the use of the new Portable Emission Measurement Systems
(PEMS) device, as well as “technical limits to improving the real world emission performance of currently
produced diesel cars in the short-term”.
Next steps
The draft motion for a resolution from the Environment Committee was rejected by 323 votes to 317,
with 61 abstentions.
Today’s vote clears the way for the European Commission to go ahead with the second RDE package. Two
more are to be tabled in order to complete the process.
The Environment Committee will hold a public hearing on the RDE procedure on 23 February.
Background: second RDE package
The second RDE package, approved by the Technical Committee on Motor Vehicles (TCMV) – bringing
together national experts - on 28 October 2015, seeks to establish quantitative RDE requirements to limit
the tailpipe emissions of light passenger and commercial (Euro 6) vehicles.
The proposed requirements are to be introduced in two steps:
•
as a first step, car manufacturers would have to bring down the discrepancy to a “conformity
factor” of a maximum of 2.1 (110%) for new models by September 2017 (and for new vehicles by
September 2019), and
•
as a second step, this discrepancy would be brought down to a factor of 1.5 (50%), taking account
of technical margins of error, by January 2020 for all new models (and by January 2021 for all new cars).
A conformity factor for the number of particles (PN) remains to be determined.
Press Release
Automakers win fight for diluted EU car-pollution test plan
Source: AutoNews - 03/02/2016
Automakers won their fight for a diluted European Union plan to test the nitrogen oxide
emissions of cars under real-driving conditions.
The plan today cleared the final hurdle in the European Parliament here, defying calls for more radical
reform following Volkswagen's test-cheating scandal.
The parliament upheld a proposal championed by automakers and EU governments to let real-world NOx
emissions exceed permissible discharges by as much as 110 percent between September 2017 and
January 2020 and by up to 50 percent thereafter.
A veto recommendation by the parliament's environment committee, which argued the measure is too
soft on the auto industry, failed to gather the minimum 376 votes needed today. The veto motion was
supported by 317 members out of a total 751.
The European Commission, the EU executive, is trying to close the gap between laboratory testing of new
vehicles and real world emissions. Industry association ACEA said the Commission's earlier reform plans
were too challenging for current diesel models and could threaten the technology as a whole, jeopardizing
jobs across the region.
ACEA welcomed the watered-down rules, which it said will still be tough to meet and will make Europe
the only region in the world to adopt real-world testing of car emissions.
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"This regulation will be a major challenge for the industry, with new and more stringent testing standards
that will be extremely difficult to reach in a short space of time" Erik Jonnaert, ACEA secretary general,
said in a statement. "However automobile manufacturers welcome the much-needed clarity, and are
eager to move forward by implementing the new testing conditions," he said.
Euro 6 weakened
Opponents of the diluted plan are angry that it will allow real driving emissions of NOx to be as high as
168 milligrams a kilometer between September 2017 and January 2020.
Brussels-based green lobby group Transport and Environment said the agreement will allow "dirty diesels"
to be driven on Europe's roads for years to come.
The "effective" new Euro 6 limit of 168mg/km is closer to the EU's previous Euro 5 standard of 180mg/km
than it is to the current Euro 6 limit of 80mg/km, the group said in a statement.
The parliament's legal-affairs committee highlighted the reservations on Monday by endorsing the
environment committee's veto recommendation, saying the overshoot margins amount to a "de-facto
blanket derogation" from the EU's NOx limits.
Review promised
To help win over parliament members, European Industry Commissioner Elzbieta Bienkowska vowed to
review the 50 percent overshoot ceiling and to move to enforce the legal cap no later than 2023.
EU governments on Oct. 28 rejected a tougher proposal from Bienkowska because of concerns about
extra costs for carmakers. Bienkowska's original plan would have allowed a maximum 60 percent
overshoot of the EU NOx limit for two years from September 2017 and enforced the legal cap as of
September 2019.
Volkswagen's admission in September that it manipulated engine management software to cheat
laboratory tests created a political storm in the EU where around half of vehicles are diesel. Some 8.5
million of the 11 million rigged VW Group diesel cars sold worldwide are on roads in Europe.
Diesel is particularly associated with emissions of nitrogen oxide linked to lung disease and premature
deaths.
Staff Report
RDE : Les députés ne posent pas leur veto contre l'engagement de la Commission de durcir les normes
en 2023
Source: Autoactu - 04/02/2016
Le Parlement européen a finalement décidé de ne pas faire jouer son veto sur les normes RDE
en échange de l'engagement de la Commission européenne de faire en sorte que les émissions
de NOx en conditions réelles équivalent aux normes Euro à partir de 2023.
Les députés européens votaient hier une proposition de la Commission environnement du Parlement
demandant de s'opposer aux normes RDE votées en octobre dernier. A quelques voix seulement (323
contre, 317 pour), les députés ont finalement rejeté cette proposition.
A partir de septembre 2017, les véhicules Diesel d'un nouveau type (puis en 2019 pour tous les VN) ne
devront donc pas émettre plus de 168 mg de NOx/km en conditions réelles de conduite pour être
homologués. Deux ans plus tard, cette limite descendra à 120 mg/km.
Pour les députés qui s'opposent à ces normes deux fois plus élevées que les normes Euro 6 (80 mg/km),
le vote du Parlement européen est incompréhensible. Pour la députée écologiste Karima Delli, le
Parlement "se déclare officiellement complice de cette supercherie en donnant son aval pour contourner
une législation (les normes Euro) qu'il a lui-même contribué à mettre sur pied ". De leur côté, les députés
socialistes estiment que ce vote "n'a aucun sens dans le contexte de notre condamnation sans ambiguïté
de la fraude aux émissions de polluants de Volkswagen et de la mise en place par le Parlement d'une
commission d'enquête sur ce scandale sanitaire ".
Un coup de poker menteur
Pour autant, à travers la menace de faire jouer son veto, le Parlement européen a mis une pression sans
précédent sur la Commission européenne et a obtenu d'elle plusieurs avancées majeures.
D'une part, les députés avaient accepté de reculer leur vote, initialement prévu fin janvier, pour laisser
le temps à la Commission de leur présenter une proposition législative renforçant le système
d'homologation des véhicules. Et ils l'ont obtenue. L'exécutif a présenté la semaine dernière un texte qui
modifie radicalement le système actuel. Reste encore à ce qu'elle ne soit pas édulcorée par le Conseil des
ministres.
D'autre part, ils ont obtenu hier en dernier recours l'engagement ferme de la Commission d'insérer une
clause de révision au texte RDE. Selon nos informations, cette clause prévoit de faire encore descendre
les limites d'émissions de NOx en conditions réelles à un facteur 1 par rapport aux normes Euro à compter
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de 2023. Ainsi, en se fondant par exemple sur les normes Euro actuelles (6), les véhicules Diesel
devraient émettre 80 mg de NOx/km en conditions réelles. "Il s'agit pour le moment d'une promesse
orale mais cet engagement se fera sous forme de déclaration de la part de la Commission", nous a-t-on
indiqué au Parlement européen.
De nouvelles batailles à venir
Le Parlement européen a en outre gagné ici une bataille psychologique pour les prochaines étapes du
RDE. En effet, si les normes se limitent aujourd'hui aux émissions de NOx, la Commission européenne
planche actuellement sur l'extension de RDE aux émissions de particules et, plus discrètement, sur les
émissions de NO2.
Pour les particules, les normes devraient d'ailleurs entrer en vigueur à compter de 2018.
Emilie Binois
Karima Delli, députée européenne écologiste : "L'acte de comitologie fixant les normes RDE est illégal"
Source: Autoactu - 08/02/2016
Après que le Parlement européen ait finalement décidé de ne pas poser son veto sur les normes
RDE adoptées par le Comité Technique pour les Véhicules à Moteur (CTVM), la députée
européenne écologiste Karima Delli et ses confrères demandent à Ségolène Royal de saisir la
Cour de Justice européenne pour casser cette acte de comitologie. Ses explications.
La semaine dernière, le Parlement européen a rejeté la proposition de la commission environnement de
s'opposer aux normes RDE adoptées en octobre dernier par le CTVM. Ces normes correspondent aux
limites d'émissions de Nox en conditions réelles de conduite que les véhicules Diesel ne pourront pas
dépasser pour être homologués (à partir de septembre 2017 pour les véhicules d'un nouveau type). Le
CMTV, composé de représentants des Etats membres, a fixé cette limite à 168 mg de NOx/km pour 2017
puis à 120 mg/km à partir de 2021. Mais la députée européenne écologiste Karima Delliet ses confrères,
tentent de faire jouer une dernière carte pour s'opposer à ces normes.
Jeudi dernier, au lendemain du vote du Parlement européen, vous avez envoyé un courrier à la ministre
de l'Ecologie Ségolène Royal pour lui demander de saisir la Cour de Justice européenne pour faire annuler
ce texte. Sur quels fondements pourrait-elle le faire ?
Karima Delli : Tout simplement parce que cet acte de comitologie (du CTVM, NDLR) est illégal. Le service
juridique du Parlement européen a d'ailleurs confirmé son illégalité dans un avis publié le 9 novembre
2015. Cet acte remet en fait totalement en question la législation européenne en permettant aux
constructeurs de ne pas respecter les normes Euro et même de les dépasser de plus de deux fois (la
norme Euro 6 fixe le seuil des NOx à 80mg/km). En clair, on a créé un nouveau texte pour contourner la
réglementation européenne sur les normes Euro et donner un droit à continuer de polluer aux
constructeurs.
C'était surtout la reconnaissance que les normes Euro ne sont pas adaptées à la réalité et qu'il fallait donc
créer une norme plus adaptée, vous ne croyez pas ?
Karima Delli : Il fallait alors modifier la législation européenne en vigueur. Et cela n'aurait dû être possible
que par un nouveau vote conjoint du Parlement et du Conseil européens, en aucun cas par un acte de
comitologie.
Ségolène Royal elle-même a reconnu au lendemain du vote du CTVM que cette décision n'aurait pas dû
être prise par un comité technique mais au niveau politique. La semaine dernière elle a par ailleurs encore
déclaré qu'il s'agissait de normes laxistes. Nous espérons donc qu'elle joigne l'acte à la parole en saisissant
la Cour de justice européenne pour casser cet acte qui contrevient au droit européen. Et il faut faire vite.
La Commission européenne s'est toutefois engagée à réviser le texte pour qu'il n'y ait plus d'écart entre
la norme Euro et le niveau d'émissions en conditions réelles à partir de 2023. Ce compromis permettrait
de ne pas déstabiliser l'industrie. Qu'en pensez-vous ?
Karima Delli : Les constructeurs ont eu dix ans pour s'adapter aux normes Euro ! Pourquoi leur donner
encore 8 ans de plus ! Quand on impose des mesures d'austérité à des Etats, ils n'ont qu'un sursis d'un
an ou deux ans pour rembourser leur dette. Pourquoi donnerait-on un tel sursis aux constructeurs ?
D'autant plus que certains constructeurs comme Peugeot Citroën ont réussi à faire les efforts nécessaires
pour tendre vers la législation en vigueur. Eux ont investi dans des technologies plus coûteuses pour y
parvenir. Alors pourquoi donner encore du temps à ceux qui ont choisi de ne pas anticiper ?
François Hollande a annoncé un remaniement du gouvernement et Ségolène Royal ne sera plus ministre
de l'Ecologie. Nicolas Hulot a en outre fait savoir qu'il refusait de prendre ce poste. Dans ce contexte,
pensez-vous que votre demande faite auprès de Mme Royal peut aboutir ?
Karima Delli : J'espère que Mme Royal va se saisir de notre appel pour faire un acte fort et se positionner
clairement comme le porte-parole des citoyens. Plutôt qu'endosser la responsabilité de la création d'un
nouveau "laisser-polluer" aux constructeurs, elle a encore ici l'opportunité de défendre l'environnement
et la santé des citoyens.
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Quel que soit le remplaçant de Mme Royal, j'espère en tout cas qu'il ne s'agira pas de faire seulement
des "paillettes d'écologie" mais véritablement un grand ministère de l'écologie.
Emilie Binois
Council green light to 2nd RDE package
Source: AgenceEurope - 12/02/2016
The way is clear for the European Commission to adopt its regulation establishing conformity
factors and the timetable for applying them, when real driving emissions (RDE) tests for
private cars and light utility vehicles are introduced (2nd RDE package).
On Friday 12 February, the Council of the EU gave the green light to the highly controversial agreement
reached by the technical committee on motor vehicles on 28 October, lowering the requirements of
current European rules (Regulation 715/2007, adopted by co-decision) on nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions
from diesel engines (EURO VI standard). This came as no surprise as the Council had already approved
the agreement.
By not making use of its right of objection within the framework of the regulatory procedure with scrutiny,
the Council has cleared the way for the European Commission to adopt the regulation - something it will
do as quickly as possible. The reason is simple: following the Volkswagen scandal, it is in the interests of
all - Commission, Council and Parliament - that more reliable emissions tests than those carried out in
laboratories are introduced in the EU.
The European Parliament had already given the text its go-ahead when, on 3 February, it decided by a
narrow majority not to veto this 2nd RDE package, much to the regret of those championing public health,
the environment and the legislation adopted ten years ago by co-decision.
Aminata Niang
RDE testing under microscope in Parliament public hearing
Source: AgenceEurope – 23/02/2016
Tests to measure road vehicle emissions under real driving conditions (RDE) were the focus of
a public hearing organised by the European Parliament's environment committee in Brussels
on Tuesday 23 February.
Experts and MEPs stressed the crucial role these tests would play in reducing the differences between the
results of polluting emissions from road vehicles measured under laboratory conditions and on the road
emissions. They urged that the tests, including the 3rd and 4th RDE packages which are due to be
presented in 2016, be brought in quickly.
The European car industry undertook to put them into operation “despite the significant financial challenge
this presents: investment of €120 million per manufacturer” and gave assurances that the technology is
available to reduce emissions in line with a compliance factor of 1.1 for the EURO VI standard. MEPs and
consumer organisations took them at their word. They demanded, however, like Françoise Grossetête
(EPP, France),“guarantees of the reliability of the tests”, precise and reliable information for consumers,
and a genuine will on the part of manufacturers to abide by European legislation and to produce clean
vehicles.
Alois Krasenbrink, Head of the Sustainable Transport Unit at the Joint Research Centre (JRC) said that,
as early as 2012, the JRC had flagged up that diesel posed problems with regard to nitrogen oxides (NOx).
In 2013-2014, the portable system road testing procedure showed that petrol was below emissions
ceilings, even on the road, while there was a problem with diesel.
For the forthcoming two RDE packages, the JRC will concentrate on testing procedures for cold engines,
adapting data to take hybrid cars into account and market monitoring trials. Bas Eickhout MEP
(Greens/EFA, Netherlands) was critical of the large number of exemptions in the second RDE package:
“Starting from cold is not included nor are temperatures below minus three degrees”. He also asked what
lessons could be learned from the United States' Environment Protection Agency (EPA) which “carries out
tests of cars that are in service, sometimes conducting random checks, which is not the case in Europe”.
Krasenbrink replied that the Commission proposal that seeks to revise the authorisation system in Europe
will enhance the role of the Commission, “including the JRC which will be able to take over responsibility
for inspections”, and check type-approvals, compliance tests for vehicles in service and market monitoring
tests. “We are a research establishment; we can distance ourselves from procedures to see if they have
to be improved and bring us closer to the EPA level”.
In the United States, today, 15-20% of vehicles are tested. The Americans have a third complementary
test, but do not give any indication of which it is. The effect of the unknown prevents the industry from
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preparing for it, observed Jürgen Resch, Director of Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH), an organisation which
is a member of the European Environmental Bureau.
As early as 2007, he had highlighted the way that pollution testing was cheated, a phenomenon that
continued to grow without checks being carried out. “On 11 February 2011, we informed the German
Transport Ministry about the Volkswagen Passat”, on which legal loopholes were being exploited to comply
with the NOx limit values in force (EURO VI). “In the meantime, NO2 exceedances have been observed
(Opel Zafira, Renault Espace, Class C Mercedes, for example) which can only be explained by
manipulation.” He said that the Renault Espace prepared for cold engine testing performed poorly but, at
operating temperature, the car no longer recognised that it was in test mode. “Mercedes has
acknowledged that below a temperature of -10 degrees, emissions reduction systems cut out. This proves
that it is premeditated”, he stated. He argued that, from 2017, the limit values set by EU legislation
should be applied with no compliance factor and without any weakening of the 80 mg/km of NOx.
Dirk Bosteels, Executive Directive of the Association for Emissions Control by Catalyst (AECCV),
responsible for tests on autocatalyst systems to monitor the emissions of light utility vehicles, said he
had sold diesel particulate filters since 2000 then, from 2009, equipment meeting the EURO VI NOx
reduction standards. He said he was happy to make his association's expertise available to the Parliament
and to contribute to the debate on fine particles from direct injection engines because “we want sound
legislation that will improve the quality of emissions from cars and vans”.
Erik Jonnaert, Secretary General of the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) made the
point that “innovation is always faster than the regulation that has to be updated”. If discrepancies have
been noted between the results of emissions tests carried out in the laboratory and on the road, it is, he
said, because the technology is obsolete. “Currently everyone carries out tests using their own
methodology. RDE tests have to be adopted quickly along with a globally harmonised methodology for
vans: the WLTP is the very latest in technology”, he went on to say.
“If manufacturers want consumers to buy more low emission vehicles then they will have to make sure
the information is reliable! You have to abide by the spirit of the law rather than exploit legal loopholes
to trick consumers”, retorted the representative of BEUC, the European consumers' organisation. Using
the WLTP procedure, due to be put into operation by 2017 at the latest, RDE test will provide reliable
information and the directive on the labelling of road vehicles will provide comparable information.
With regard to fuel consumption, there are differences of up to 40% between laboratory and on the road
results, he regretted. BEUC has opened legal proceedings to secure compensation for Fiat Panda and
Volkswagen Golf owners. On 15 March, European Consumers Day, it will hold an event on fuel
consumption by cars and the measures taken to restore consumer confidence.
Aminata Niang
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