As of September 2022, cars must meet EU limits on NOx emissions under real driving conditions to comply with air pollution limits, says the European Parliament. On September 17, the Parliament adopted its position with 485 votes to 169 and 42 abstentions on the Commission proposal to re-introduce legal exemptions (through a so-called conformity factor) on nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from light passenger and commercial cars (Euro 5 and Euro 6) for type approval of vehicles tested under real driving conditions in order to comply with the EU General Court ruling of 13 December 2018. The vote backed a proposal by the environment committee (ENVI) that all cars should abide by Euro 6 criteria for acceptable limits for exhaust emissions within two years.
Following the vote, Parliament’s rapporteur on the file, Esther De Lange, said: “Today’s outcome is based on a broad agreement between the political groups. We have to be realistic about the discrepancy between emissions measured in laboratories and those measured in real-driving conditions by taking into account statistical and technical uncertainties linked to these measurements. At the same time, it's important to show ambition by gradually lowering the value for the conformity factor through annual downward revisions, based on the scientific assessments of the Joint Research Centre."
The Parliament is now ready to enter negotiations with the member states on a final set of rules.
A detailed explanation of RDE and the conformity factors can be found in the EAC-Newsletter January-March 2020.
Related links:
▪ Press Release: MEPs want new cars to respect emission limits under real driving conditions. ▪ EAC-Newsletter January-March 2020 – RDE and Conformity Factor.