The MEP responsible for coordinating responses to the Commission’s Euro VI emissions standards for heavy vehicles says the standards should be stricter and come into force 18 months earlier than Brussels envisages.
The German socialist Matthias Groote says Euro VI limits should be in force by April 2013, not October 2014 as the Commission is proposing. He says the earlier date is ‘technically feasible’ as long as some ‘technical flanking measures’ are agreed by April 2009. The Commission says the flanking measures cannot be adopted until the start of 2010 at the earliest.
Groote also wants the proposed limit on fine particle emissions to be halved from 10 mg/kWh to 5mg. This would mean all new heavy vehicles would need to be fitted with closed particle filters.
The MEP also proposes the obligatory carrying of portable emissions measuring devices in vehicles as he says emissions in real driving are often substantially different from those recorded in test cycles.
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