EU car pollution laws have improved UK's air quality, say carmakers

Meeting strict new EU pollution standards has added £1,500 to the cost of every new vehicle, say carmakers who claim that because of European legislation to cut tailpipe pollution, Britain’s air quality is better now than it has been for centuries.

“New European emission limits, which apply to all new cars sold from this week, have the potential to all but eliminate exhaust pollutants that impact air quality,” said Mike Hawes, chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

The European motor industry has been stung by World Health Organisation statement that diesel fumes are a “major cancer risk” and by government health figures suggesting particulate air pollution is killing 29,000 people a year.

But as a result of European legislation to to reduce car pollution, since 1993, the minute, partially-burned bits of soot emitted from Britain’s 35m tailpipes have been cut by 96% in diesel vehicles, and the toxic NO2 gas has been reduced by 84%. Carbon dioxide emissions, which contribute to climate change, have dropped 82% in diesel and 63% in petrol cars.

“Diesel particulate filters that capture 99% of all [particulates] have been developed. Today, particulate matter from cars meeting Euro 5 standard is equivalent to just one grain of sand per kilometre driven,” said Hawes.

But deaths from pollution are still a major problem. Last month new figures from government advisory body the committee on the medical effects of air pollutants, stated that a further 5,879 people a year in London died from toxic NO2 pollution. The UK has been in breach of the EU’s nitrogen dioxide (NO2) pollution limits since 2010 and will not meet them until 2030 on current trends.

In a new report, the industry claimed that it had spent hundreds of millions of pounds in the the past five years developing new engines and exhaust clean-up systems to meet the new Euro 6 standards.

“This imposes the toughest vehicle emission limits yet. It will ensure the cleanest cars in history. This latest standard mandates a 56% cut in diesel NOx emissions,” said the SMMT.

“The technology is arriving to develop the truly clean car. Technology has taken an enormous leap in the last few years,” said Ken Smith, a senior engineer with Delphi Engines.

“We can expect to see more plug-in electrics, hydrogen fuel vehicles and hybrids. But diesel is the only realistic power train that delivers the performance to move large loads. They will remain dominant for the forseeable future,” he said.

Some health experts and pollution campaigners have called for a complete ban on diesel engines in London, Paris and other cities. But Alan Jones, chief engineer for diesel emissions at Jaguar Landrover said complex new systems to trap toxic gases could now convert 95% of all diesel emissions.

“We have spent £500m on a new engine plant. We have achieved mass CO2 reduction. Diesel has provided big benefits for CO2 in Europe,” said Jones.

But air campaigner Simon Birket, founder of Clean Air for London pressure group, said motor industry promises were unconvincing. “Anyone else manufacturing a product declared carcinogenic by the World Health Organisation would scrap it and invest in something else.

“There is no end to the bad news with diesel: real world emissions many times worse than emission standards would suggest; frightening running costs and hassle when diesel particle filters fill with ash or soot; and the imminent prospect of bans from entering the most polluted areas as the only way cities can comply with WHO guidelines for air quality and legal limits. The devil should stop complaining about being demonised and start praying.”

Car makers have also been hit by new European laws forcing them to test their cars under real world conditions and not in laboratories. This is thought to have allowed them to make unrealistic claims about emissions. By 2017 all new cars will have to be more stringently tested, effectively ending an era when car makers could exaggerate the performance of their machines.

“There is still more to do. Real driving emissions (RDE) will represent an important air quality breakthrough, ensuring that modern cars are ultra low in emissions and also deliver in the real world,” said the report.