Air pollution: measures to be taken against emission of gaseous pollutants from diesel engines (amend. Directive 88/77/EEC)

1. Category of referral: Parliament and Council Directive 2. Expected date of referral: December 1994 3. Responsible Committee: ENVI 4. Previous Community legislation: - Directive 88/77/EEC (OJ L 36/33 of 09.02.1988) sets Type Approval limits for the emis-sions of carbon monoxide, unburnt hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides from diesel engines of vehicles over 3.5 tonnes based on ECE (United Nations Economic Com-mis-sion for Europe) regulation 24.03. This was not mandatory and the suggested appli-ca-tion dates were from 01.04.1988 for new models and from 01.10.1990 for all produc-tion. - The "Clean Lorry Directive" 91/542/EEC (OJ L 295/3 of 25.10.1991) imposes more stringent limit values for gaseous emissions and introduces a limit value for parti-cu-late (Pm) emissions from diesel engines and other heavy utility vehicles, which will be compulsory in two stages. The following table is a summary of the EU limits for gaseous emissions of heavy duty vehicles determined by Directives 88/77/EEC and 91/542/EEC. Effective date Type Approval (g/kWh) Conformity of Production (g/kWh) CO HC NOx Pm CO HC NOx Pm 01.04.88 New models 01.10.90 All production 11.2 2.4 14.4 ** 13.2 2.64 15.8 ** 01.07.92 New models 01.10.93 All production 4.5 1.1 8.0 0.36* 4.9 1.23 9.0 0.4* 01.10.95 New models 01.10.96 All production 4.0 1.1 7.0 0.15* 4.0 1.1 7.0 0.15* * In the case of engines of 85 kW or less, the limit value for particulate emissions is increased by multiplying the quoted limit by a coefficient of 1.7 ** Smoke according to ECE Regulation 24.03, EU Directive 72/306/EEC 5. Previous position of the EP: The EP, in the reading (OJ No C 48/162 of 25.02.91 and OJ No C 240/106 of 16.09.91) of the Commission's proposal lea-ding to the "Clean Lorry Directive" asked i. a. for a slight reduction of the limit values for the first stage and introduction of far more stringent values for the second stage. The EP did succeed in ensuring that a number of important amendments were included in the Directive i. e. the date of entry into force of the second stage, particulate emissions and the inclusion of a possible third stage. 6. Situation in the Member States: The Task Force on "the Environment and the Internal market" estimated that completion of the internal market would cause an increase in trans-frontier lorry traffic of 30-50%. The following table shows the growth in the stock of the goods vehicles in use in the EU (15 MS). 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1991 EU 8 266 9 568 10 973 13 434 17 176 17 808 Road freight vehicles being diesel powered, are by far the largest source for particle emissions from the transport sector. In Belgium (1990) f.i. goods vehicles were mainly responsible for emissions of particulates (71 % of the total road emissions), NOx (66 %), SO2 (72 %) and CO2 (54 %). 7. Content of the planned legislation: The "Clean Lorry" Directive provides that the Commission shall submit before the end of 1996, in the light of the technical progress achieved, a revision of limit values for pollu-ting emis-sions combined with a revision of the test procedure. The new limit values shall not be appli-ca-ble before 1 Oct 1999 as regards new type-approvals. Furthermore, the Directive con-tains a provision which obliges the Commission to review the parti-cu-late value. This is especial-ly necessary because of the limit value for particulates for the lowest class of heavy duty vehicles (< 85 kW) which is almost twice as high as tech-ni-cal-ly feasible. This vehicle type (3.5 to 6t), however is an important class in urban traffic and contributes considerably to the particulate content of urban ambient air. The Directive also contains a provision which obliges the Council to decide about measures to be taken to limit CO2 emissions from motor vehicles. To assist in developing this legislation, a "Tripartite" was set up comprising representatives of the European Commission, motor industrie (ACEA) and oil industry group (EUROPIA) to develop a rational basis to set future emission limits. This includes study of current air quality and modelling trends to identify future requirements. The European Programme on Emissions, Fuels and Engine Technologies should be completed by the end of 1994 to allow proposals for further legislation to be developed in 1995. Stric-ter limits for gaseous emissions will indeed result in a reduction of pollution of a single heavy duty vehicle. However, the predicted future growth of freight transport will entirely outweigh every potential reduction in NOx, SO2 and CO2 emissions. Therefore addi-tional initiatives must be taken such as: Stricter application of regulations con-cerning road haulage, for instance speed limits, working hours and designated routes for freight, which would result in safer roads and less pollu-tion; taxing heavy goods transport, taking into account the damage caused to infrastrusture and environ-ment ("polluter pays principle"). 8. Legal basis proposed by the European Commission: Article 100a (Internal market) 9. Documentation and sources: OECD Environmental data 1993; Principales actions de la CEMT dans le domaine de la sécu-ri-té routière, edition 1994, conférence européenne des ministres des transports; Memorandum on Transport and Environment to the European Parliament, T&E 94/14; Motor vehicle emis-sions regulations and fuel specifications 1994 update, Concawe, report no. 4/94; Task Force Report on the Environment and Internal Market; EEB News: Atmospheric Pollution from Trans-port: Oct 1993; actualisatie inputdata en emissie-berekeningen voor de sector verkeer en vervoer, I. De Vlieger, Vlaamse Instelling voor Technologisch Onderzoek �