| European Emission Standards |
Article Index for European |
Website Links For European |
Information AboutEuropean Emission Standards |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT EUROPEAN EMISSION STANDARDS | |
| emission standards | |
| energy policies and initiatives of the european union | |
|
European emission standards are sets of requirements defining the acceptable limits for exhaust emissions of new vehicles sold in EU member states. The Emission Standards are defined in a series of European Union Directive s staging the progressive introduction of increasingly stringent standards. Currently, emissions of NOX , HC , Carbon Monoxide (CO), and Particulate Matter are regulated for most Vehicle Type s, including cars, lorries, trains, tractors and similar machinery, Barge s, but excluding seagoing ships and airplanes. For each vehicle type, different standards apply. Compliance is determined by running the engine at a standardised Test Cycle . Noncompliant vehicles cannot be sold in the EU, but new standards do not apply to vehicles already on the roads. No use of specific technologies is mandated to meet the standards, though available technology is considered when setting the standards. Also see the EU mandated European On-Board Diagnostics . TRANSPORT AND GLOBAL WARMING See Also: Global warming The target fixed at Kyoto Protocol was an 8% reduction of emissions in all sectors of the economy compared to 1990 levels by 2008-2012. Relative Carbon Dioxide emissions from transport have risen rapidly in recent years, from 21% of the total in 1990 to 28% in 2004 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6337057.stm, http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/07/155&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en and http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/02/06/news/carbon.php, but currently there are no standards for CO2 emission limits for pollution from vehicles. EU transport emissions of CO2 currently account for about 3.5% of global CO2 emissions. Any action taken to reduce CO2 emissions will have to involve curbing transport emissions. By vehicle type Passenger cars account for about half the transport-related CO2 emissions in the European Union and air transport that accounts for 12% of the transport emissions of CO2 in the atmosphere. CO<SUB>2</SUB> EMISSIONS: NO LIMITS Carbon dioxide is the most ubiquitous of the six greenhouse gases. See Also: Energy efficiency Obligatory labeling The purpose of ''Directive 1999/94/EC of the European Parliament and the Council of 13 December 1999 relating to the availability of consumer information on fuel economy and CO2 emissions in respect of the marketing of new passenger cars'' http://ec.europa.eu/environment/co2/9994/en.pdf is to ensure that information relating to the Fuel Economy and CO2 emissions of new passenger cars offered for sale or lease in the Community is made available to consumers in order to enable consumers to make an informed choice. In the United Kingdom , the initial approach was deemed ineffective. The way the information was presented was too complicated for consumers to understand. As a result, car manufacturers in the United Kingdom voluntarily agreed to put a more “consumer-friendly,” color-coded label displaying CO2 emissions on all new cars beginning in September 2005, with with a letter from A (<100 CO2 g/km ) to F ( 186+ CO2 g/km) . The goal of the new “green label” is to give consumers clear information about the environmental performance of different vehicles. http://www.weathervane.rff.org/images/Feature_Graphics/One_Car_At_A_Time/UKFuelEconomyLabel.pdf Other EU member countries are also in the process of introducing consumer-friendly labels. Nonexistent obligatory vehicle emission limits The CO2 emission limits generated by vehicles are nowadays subject to a voluntary agreement (in this differ from the obligatory limits in the U.S. CAFE legislation) between the EU and the Automanufacturer s (see ACEA Agreement ). The ultimate EU target with voluntary agreements are to contribute, is to reach an average CO2 emission (as measured according to Commission Directive 93/116/EC) The application for EC Type-approval for a Vehicle Type with regard to CO2 emissions must be submitted by the manufacturer. CO2 mass emission is mesured in G/km See http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:31993L0116:EN:HTML of 120 g/km for all new passenger cars by 2012. However, as it becomes increasingly clear that the agreement will not deliver (having achieved only 160 g/km in 2005, from 186 g/km in 1995) Lawmaker s have started considering regulation. In late 2005, the European Parliament [http://www.europarl.eu.int/omk/sipade3?PUBREF=-//EP//TEXT+TA+P6-TA-2005-0433+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN&L=EN&LEVEL=2&NAV=S&LSTDOC=Y&LSTDOC=N European Parliament resolution on "Winning the Battle Against Global Climate Change"], 16 November 2005 passed a resolution in support for mandatory CO2 emission standards to replace current voluntary commitments by the automanufacturers and labelling. In late 2006, in response to a new report, by the study, Fiat is the best performer in Europe. On 7th February 2007 the European Commission published its key draft proposal (COM 2007 0019) EC legislation to limit average CO2 emissions from the European fleet of cars to 120g CO2/km. Some people interpreted this as meaning that all manufacturers would have to average 120g for their fleet, but this is not the case. Some volume manufacturers of smaller cars such as Fiat, Renault and Peugeot-Citroen are already quite close to the target whilst smaller volume manufacturers of higher emissions cars such as BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Saab and Porsche are a long way from reaching this target. Not surpisingly the french manufacturers want a blanket target whereas the German manufacturers feel a blanket target would destroyt their industries. Whatever the likely outcome of the final legislation (likely in in late 2007 /early 2008), if the intention is to truly bring down CO2 emission from the whole Euopean fleet then the legislation has to require all manufacturers to pull their weight and all reduce their emissions by similar amounts. The environmental group T&E insists on the need for a longer-term target that doubles Fuel Efficiency of new cars over the next decade, 80 g/km by 2020. . It says new-car emissions from European producers slipped to 160 grams per kilometre (g/km) on average last year (reduced only 0.2 percent in 2006), still way off a voluntary goal of 140 g/km by 2008. NON-CO2 FUEL EMISSION: STAGES AND LEGAL FRAMEWORK The stages are typically referred to as Euro 1, Euro 2, Euro 3, Euro 4 and Euro 5 fuels for Light Duty Vehicle standards. The corresponding series of standards for Heavy Duty Vehicles use Roman, rather than Arabic numerals (Euro I, Euro II, etc.) The legal framework consists in a series of directives, each amendments to the 1970 Directive 70/220/EEC {Link without Title} . Here is a summary list of the standards, when they come into force, what they apply to, and which EU directives provide the definition of the standard.
These limits supersede the original directive on emission limits 70/220/EEC. The classifications for Vehicle Type s are defined by http://europa.eu/scadplus/leg/en/s06021.htm :
of 20 December 2001, adapting to technical progress Council Directive 70/156/EEC on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the type-approval of motor vehicles and their trailers]
In the area of fuels, the 2001 Biofuels Directive requires that 5,75% all transport fossil fuels ( Petrol and Diesel ) should be replaced by ''' Biofuels ''' by December 31, ''' 2010 ''', with an intermediate target of 2 % by the end of 2005 . s calls to extend Deadline to implement CO2 reduction standards. Emission standards for passenger cars Emission standards for passenger cars and light commercial vehicles are summarized in the following tables. Since the Euro 2 stage, EU regulations introduce different emission limits for diesel and gasoline vehicles. Diesels have more stringent CO standards but are allowed higher NOx. Gasoline vehicles are exempted from PM standards through the Euro 4 stage (Euro 5 proposal introduces PM standards for Lean -burning gasoline cars). All dates listed in the tables refer to new type approvals. The EC Directives also specify a second date—one year later—which applies to first registration (entry into service) of existing, previously type-approved vehicle models.
EMISSION STANDARDS FOR LIGHT COMMERCIAL VEHICLES European Emission Standards for Light Commercial Vehicle s ≤1305 kg (Category N1 - I), G/km European Emission Standards for Light Commercial Vehicle s 1305 kg-1760 kg (Category N1 - II), G/km European Emission Standards for Light Commercial Vehicle s >1760 kg Max 3500 Kg . (Category N1 - III), G/km Emission standards for lorries and buses Whereas for passenger cars, the standards are defined in g/km, for lorries (trucks) they are defined by Engine Power , G/kWh , and are therefore in no way comparable. The following table contains a summary of the emission standards and their implementation dates. Dates in the tables refer to new type approvals; the dates for all type approvals are in most cases one year later (EU type approvals are valid longer than one year). The official category name is Heavy-duty diesel engines, which generally includes lorries and buses. EU Emission Standards for HD Diesel Engines, g/kWh (smoke in m-1) Emission standards for Large Goods Vehicles Large Goods Vehicle European Emission Standards Enhanced environmentally friendly vehicle Enhanced environmentally friendly vehicle or '''EEV''' is a term used in the European emission standards for the definition of a "clean vehicle" > 3.5 Tonne in the category M2 and M3. Cycle beating For the emission standards to deliver real emission reductions it is crucial that the test cycles under which the emissions have to comply as much as possible reflect normal driving situations. It was recently discovered that engine manufacturers would engage in what was called 'cycle beating' to optimize emission performance to the test cycle, while emissions from typical driving conditions would be much higher than expected, undermining the standards and public health. In one particular instance, recent research from two German technology institutes found that for diesel cars no 'real' NOx reductions have been achieved after 13 years of stricter standards {Link without Title} . SEE ALSO
REFERENCES EXTERNAL LINKS
In the media
|
|
|