Is the Euro 7 proposal good or bad after all?

2022-11-23

If you are reading this blog, youve likely heard about the European Commissions Euro 7 proposal to regulate the pollutant emissions of road vehicles and are wondering: Why is everybody unhappy with it?

Your confusion is understandable. While public health advocates call the proposal a disappointing step towards protecting the health of Europeans, industry representatives label it unrealistic and extreme. We at the ICCT did not give the warmest welcome to the Euro 7 proposal. Still, some things are good news. I will walk you through the strong and weak elements of what the Commission just proposed.

The Strengths

The Euro 7 proposal is innovative in many aspects. We highlight three of those here.

If you can drive it, you can test itwell, almost: Since Dieselgate broke, thanks to an ICCT investigation, the real-world emissions of cars have finally started to decrease due to the introduction of the real-driving emissions (RDE) test procedure. However, the RDE regulation placed strict limits on how cars could be tested on the road. As a result, it is actually hard to perform a valid RDE test under Euro 6, so such tests cannot be considered truly representative. Euro 7 would drop most of these restrictive requirements, simplifying the testing and enhancing its real-world representativeness.

New requirements for non-exhaust emissions: While commonplace in Brazil, China, and the United States, Euro 7 plays catch-up by proposing limits for the vapor emissions of petrol that occur during refueling. Euro 7 also proposes new limits for the particle emissions from brakesa worlds firstthat would apply not only to combustion-powered vehicles but also to zero-emission technologies. These two elements would drive new emission control systems in areas neglected under previous regulations.

Durability requirements for EV batteries: In another worlds first, Euro 7 proposes durability requirements specific to the traction battery of electric vehicles, forcing manufacturers to continuously monitor the state-of-health and performance of the battery. While the specific requirements are aligned with current technology and would not put manufacturers in a pickle, these provisions are essential for increasing trust in the second-hand market for EVs.

The Weaknesses

As mentioned above, there are some aspects of the Euro 7 proposal that could use some work. Two major issues are outlined below.

Pollutant limits could go even further: Pollutant emission standards, such as Euro 7, have two essential functions: Forcing the adoption of emission control technologies for which there is no market incentive, and ensuring these technologies are functioning correctly over the vehicles lifetime. Worryingly, it is here that Euro 7 shows its shortcomings.

In the case of cars and vans, the Euro 7 emission limits are not much different from those of the Euro 6 regulation. For NOx emissions in particularthe most important air pollutantthe Euro 7 limits are just a harmonization with the limits set for petrol vehicles under Euro 6. And, despite the proposal of a voluntary certification levelwith the euphonious name Euro 7+the optional limits are a meager 20% lower than whats mandated by the unadorned Euro 7. ICCTs research shows that the emissions performance of current Euro 6 cars is already better than that. One does wonder if those cars deserve the clean credentials that such a buzz-worthy certification would suggest.

The situation is different for trucks and buses. Our research indicates that, compared to Euro VI vehicles, the proposed Euro 7 limits will drive substantial improvements in the emissions of NOx and particles, bringing to market technologies ripe for commercialization.

ICCT, 23-11-22
; https://theicct.org/euro-7-proposal-good-or-bad-nov22/