• Environment Ministers Show Support for Cleaner Vehicles

    During a discussion o­n Sustainable Road Transport at last week's Environment Council meeting in Luxembourg, Ministers appeared to offer broad support for cleaner vehicles. The Dutch Presidency was effectively 'testing the water' o­n the subject - the real debate will come when the Commission issues concrete proposals. T&E, along with the European Environment Bureau (EEB), issued a position paper before the meeting advocating stricter targets for the sector. The two organisations welcomed the broad support for such moves offered by several Ministers.

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    [mailchimp_signup][/mailchimp_signup]Summary of discussion:
    – o­n health-damaging particles there was agreement that the best available technology should be used.  In practice this means that the EURO5 standard should be strict enough to ensure that all new diesel cars have to be equipped with particle filters
    – o­n Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) emissions they supported a two-step approach – aiming for EURO6 to represent a 70% reduction compared with current (from 2005) EURO4 standards
    – on CO2 they called upon the Commission to prepare a follow-up to the industry’s existing voluntary CO2 commitment.  A majority of States also asked for a backup strategy (with the potential for legislation) in case the current commitment fails.