European emission standards

[9]: 5 In the European Union, emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx), total hydrocarbon (THC), non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHC), carbon monoxide (CO) and particulate matter (PM) are regulated for most vehicle types, including cars, trucks (lorries), locomotives, tractors and similar machinery, barges, but excluding seagoing ships and aeroplanes.

Along with emissions standards, the European Union has also mandated a number of computer on-board diagnostics for the purposes of increasing safety for drivers.

During the early 2000s, Australia began harmonising Australian Design Rule certification for new motor vehicle emissions with Euro categories.

Since the Euro 2 stage, EU regulations introduce different emission limits for diesel and petrol vehicles.

[26][27][28] From a technical perspective, European emissions standards do not reflect everyday usage of the vehicle as manufacturers are allowed to lighten the vehicle by removing the back seats, improve aerodynamics by taping over grilles and door handles, or reduce the load on the generator by switching off the headlights, the passenger compartment fan, or simply disconnecting the alternator which charges the battery.

With the introduction of Euro V, standard two-stroke engine motorcycles are challenged by the strict HC and PM emissions limits.

It is expected that technologies such as direct injection, combined with petrol particulate filters, could be needed for these motorcycle engine types to meet the Euro V demands.

As of 1 January 2015, EU Member States have to ensure that ships in the Baltic, the North Sea and the English Channel are using fuels with a sulphur content of no more than 0.10%.

Some manufacturers were also found to use so-called defeat devices where the engine control system would recognise that the vehicle was being tested, and would automatically switch to a mode optimised for emissions performance.

[41] In one particular instance, research in diesel car emissions by two German technology institutes found that zero "real" NOx reductions in public health risk had been achieved despite 13 years of stricter standards (2006 report).

The cars thus passed the test, but in real world conditions, emitted up to forty times more NOx emissions than allowed by law.

Environment organisations criticized the decision as insufficient,[47][48] while ACEA mentions it will be extremely difficult for automobile manufacturers to reach such a limit in such short period of time.

ADAC also performed NOx emission tests with a cycle representative of the real driving environment in the laboratory.

[53][54] Among the 69 cars tested: Since 2012, ADAC performs regular pollutant emission tests[55][56] on a specific cycle in the laboratory duly representing a real driving environment and gives a global notation independent from the type of engine used (petrol, diesel, natural gas, LPG, hybrid, etc.).

Unlike ambient discourse dirty diesel versus clean petrol cars, the results are much more nuanced and subtle.

from the beginning of 2017 found that 47 out of 61 diesel car models exceed the Euro 6 limit for NOx, although they conform to official standards.

[62] The purpose of Directive 1999/94/EC of the European Parliament and the Council of 13 December 1999 relating to the availability of consumer information on fuel economy and CO2 emissions in respect of the marketing of new passenger cars[63] is to ensure that information relating to the fuel economy and CO2 emissions of new passenger cars offered for sale or lease in the Community is made available to consumers in order to enable consumers to make an informed choice.

The goal of the new "green label" is to give consumers clear information about the environmental performance of different vehicles.

The regulation applies to new passenger cars registered in the European Union and EEA member states for the first time.

A carmaker who fails to comply has to pay an "excess emissions premium" for each vehicle registered according with the amount of g/km of exceeded.

[66][67] In April 2019, Regulation (EU) 2019/631 was adopted, which introduced CO2 emission performance standards for new passenger cars and new light commercial vehicles for 2025 and 2030.

[67][69] Many EU member states have responded to this problem by exploring the possibility of including electric vehicle-related infrastructure into their existing road traffic system, with some even having begun implementation.