European Parliament has one final chance to act on dangerous air pollution from cars, vans and trucks

(Transport and Environment, 12 Oct 2023) Severely weakened Euro 7 proposals will do little to improve appalling air quality in European cities.

Today Members of the European Parliament’s environment committee further weakened the European Commission’s proposals to clean up toxic pollution from cars, vans and trucks. Transport & Environment warns that this is not only a disaster for health, but that it will allow the automotive industry to greenwash cars as ‘clean Euro 7’ while still running on highly polluting Euro 6 technology.

Anna Krajinska, vehicle emissions and air quality manager at T&E, said: “The same parliament that voted for more ambitious air quality standards is killing off the Euro 7 legislation that’s crucial to delivering cleaner air for all. MEPs have decided to give the auto industry a free pass even though toxic pollution from road vehicles is responsible for over 70,000 premature deaths every year in Europe. In doing so, they have ignored all the expert advice that this would be both technically feasible and affordable for car companies and consumers.”

While the committee proposals slightly tighten rules for brakes and tires as well as battery and emissions durability T&E argues that this is little more than window dressing compared to the impact of weakening of the proposals elsewhere.

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Transport and Environment, 12 Oct 2023: European Parliament has one final chance to act on dangerous air pollution from cars, vans and trucks