A recent article in The Guardian quotes a report which shows that modern diesel cars produce 10 times more toxic air pollution than heavy trucks and buses. “The stark difference in emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) is due to the much stricter testing applied to large vehicles in the EU, according to the researchers behind a new report. They say the same strict measures must be applied to cars.” NOx pollution is said to be responsible for early deaths of thousands of people in Europe. Diesel cars are known to emit six times more toxic gases on the road than allowed in the official lab-based tests. “Following the Volkswagen “dieselgate” scandal, the car tests are due to be toughened, but campaigners say the reforms do not go far enough.”
A new report by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), a research group that played a key role in exposing Volkswagen cheating, compared the emissions from trucks and buses in realistic driving conditions with those of cars. “It found that heavy-duty vehicles tested in Germany and Finland emitted about 210mg NOx per kilometre driven, less than half the 500mg/km pumped out by modern diesel cars that meet the highest “Euro 6” standard. However, the buses and trucks have larger engines and burn more diesel per kilometre, meaning that cars produce 10 times more NOx per litre of fuel.”
By September, this year, EU is starting on road texts with mobile devices, called portable emissions measurement systems (PEMS), attached to vehicles as they drive on real roads. Can the car manufacturers come clean on their own on emissions instead of waiting to be caught?
