Explanatory Memorandum to COM(2019)208 - Amending Regulation (EC) No 715/2007 on type approval motor vehicles WRT emissions from light passenger and commercial vehicles (Euro 5/6) and access to information - Main contents
Please note
This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.
| dossier | COM(2019)208 - Amending Regulation (EC) No 715/2007 on type approval motor vehicles WRT emissions from light passenger and commercial ... |
|---|---|
| source | COM(2019)208  |
| date | 14-06-2019 |
1. CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL
• Reasons for and objectives of the proposal
On 13 December 2018, the General Court delivered a judgment in the Direct Actions T-339/16 (Ville de Paris/Commission), T-352/16 (Ville de Bruxelles/Commission) and T-391/16 (Ayuntamiento de Madrid/Commission) submitted against Commission Regulation (EU) 2016/646 amending Commission Regulation (EC) No 692/2008 as regards emissions from light passenger and commercial vehicles (Euro 6) 1 . Regulation (EU) 2016/646 set out the conformity factors used to assess compliance of the vehicle with the emission limits while performing a Real Driving Emissions (RDE) test. The contested conformity factors were used to progressively reduce the discrepancy between emissions measured in real driving and those measured in a laboratory.
The Court does not rule on the technical necessity of the conformity factors. It finds that the Regulation (EU) 2016/646 de facto modifies the limit of 80mg/km set by Regulation (EU) 715/2007 by allowing for a higher level of emissions in real-driving emission tests than when measuring emissions under laboratory conditions. The Court finds that only the legislator itself could have introduced the conformity factors as it touches upon an essential element of a legislative act (Regulation (EC) No 715/2007 2 ). The Court has therefore annulled the part of Regulation (EU) 2016/646, which established the conformity factors.
The annulment is of a partial nature. The RDE test procedure as established by Commission Regulation (EU) 2016/427 3 and further amended by Commission Regulations (EU) 2016/646 4 , 2017/1154 5 and 2018/1832 6 therefore remains in force and must still be conducted at type-approval.
The need to adopt the current proposal results directly from the Judgement of the General Court judgment in Direct Actions T-339/16, T-352/16 and T-391/16 and its swift adoption is vital in order to avoid legal uncertainty on the type approvals already granted since 1 September 2017, as well as on the future type-approvals. In fact, it is fundamental that economic operators have clarity on the applicable rules as soon as possible and in any case until the judgement takes effect, on 23 February 2020. To minimize the possible risk of legal uncertainty, the time in Article 3 has been set to three days.
To avoid legal uncertainty on the type approvals already granted since 1 September 2017, the General Court delays the effects of the annulment by a maximum period of 12 months, (i.e. 23 February 2020) to give time to the Commission to implement the judgment.
In the meantime, and to avoid an undue burden for the manufacturers that already designed their vehicles taking into account the RDE procedure adopted earlier the Commission has decided to propose to the European Parliament and to the Council to re-instate the previously adopted conformity factors.
In addition, the Commission also proposes that the legislator empowers the Commission to annually review downwards the conformity factors set out by the legislator, in order to reflect the progress in accuracy of the portable measuring equipment. This will allow to gradually reduce even further the emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) under real driving.
• Consistency with existing policy provisions in the policy area
Emission regulations are adopted as part of the EU framework for the type approval of cars, vans, trucks, buses and coaches. Successive 'Euro' standards are designated by Arabic numerals for light-duty vehicles (cars and vans) and Roman numerals for heavy-duty vehicles (trucks, buses and coaches). The latest standards are Euro 6 for light-duty, and Euro VI for heavy-duty:
–Directive 2007/46/EC 7 provides a common legal framework for the type approval of cars, vans, trucks, buses and coaches.
–Euro 5 and 6 Regulation (EC) No 715/2007 sets the emission limits for cars for regulated pollutants, in particular nitrogen oxides (NOx, i.e. the combined emissions of NO and NO2) of 80 mg/km.
–Regulation (EC) No 692/2008 implements and amends Regulation (EC) No 715/2007 on type-approval of motor vehicles with respect to emissions from light passenger and commercial vehicles (Euro 5 and Euro 6) and on access to vehicle repair and maintenance information.
–Regulations 2017/1151 (Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure) and 2018/1832 (Real-Driving Emissions 4) are defining the new test procedures for vehicle type approval and enable real world testing, including testing by independent certified laboratories.
–Regulation 595/2009/EC requires new heavy duty vehicles and engines to comply with new emission limits and introduces additional requirements on access to information.
–Commission Regulation (EU) 582/2011 implements and amends Regulation (EC) No 595/2009 with respect to emissions from heavy duty vehicles (Euro VI).
Successive Euro emission standards have led to very significant drops in emissions of exhaust particles both in terms of mass (PM) and in terms of numbers (PN) and other pollutants such as hydrocarbons (HC) and carbon monoxide (CO). However, NOx emissions--and in particular nitrogen dioxide (NO2) emissions--from road transport have not been reduced as much as expected with the introduction of Euro standards since 1991. This is due to the fact that emissions during 'real-world' driving conditions are often higher than those measured during the type approval test (in particular for diesel vehicles).
To deal with high on-road emissions from passenger vehicles, where a significant discrepancy with the laboratory testing was observed in recent years, the Commission developed the RDE test procedure, which applies from 1 September 2017. This test procedure, which better reflects the actual emissions on the road and reduces the discrepancy between emissions measured in real driving to those measured in a laboratory, uses portable on-board emission analysers to measure emissions during a realistic, on-road test.
The RDE procedure complements the laboratory-based procedure to check that the emission levels of nitrogen NOx and the PN measured during the laboratory test stay low also in real driving conditions. Light duty vehicles certified with the latest version of the emission standards as “Euro 6d-TEMP” or “Euro 6d” are certified with real driving emissions tests.
In addition to substantial modification of the testing regime, Regulation (EU) 2018/858 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018 on the approval and market surveillance of motor vehicles will enable effective market surveillance of the environmental performance of vehicles.
• Consistency with other Union policies
Air quality has improved in the European Union over the last decades, thanks to joint efforts by the EU and the national, regional and local authorities. This includes reductions in emission of air pollutants since 2000 by between 10% and 70%, depending on the pollutant (and reductions of 42% for NOx). These reductions are also based on successes in controlling emissions by integrating environmental protection requirements into the transport sector. 8
Nevertheless, cities across the European Union continue to face severe problems with outdoor nitrogen dioxide (NO2) concentrations, with road transport continuing to be the largest contributor to exceedances above the limit values set by the Directive on ambient air quality and cleaner air for Europe (Directive 2008/50/EC) to protect from risks to human health and the environment. For 2016, 19 Member States reported exceedances 9 , usually in urban areas and due to high NOx (NO + NO2) emissions from local traffic. NOx emissions of diesel cars and vans, which may be significantly higher under real driving conditions than the regulatory emission limits measured on a laboratory test cycle, contribute to this considerably. 10
The mandatory NOx emission limits for diesel cars in the EU have been progressively lowered from 500 mg/km at Euro 3 (there were no NOx limits specified for Euro 1 and 2 diesel vehicles) to 80 mg/km at Euro 6 11 . However, there is evidence that despite these increasingly stringent NOx limits, that are verified under laboratory conditions and on a standardised test cycle, the actual NOx emissions under real driving conditions did not come down to the same extent (Weiss et al. 2011).
In response to this, the Commission has developed the real driving emissions procedure (RDE). This new test procedure is vital to controlling the real driving emissions of NOx from diesel cars. It first applied for monitoring purposes from early 2016 to complement the laboratory test and has been applicable to new vehicle types as from 1 September 2017; it will apply to all new vehicles as from 1 September 2019.
2. LEGAL BASIS, SUBSIDIARITY AND PROPORTIONALITY
• Legal basis
The legal basis of the proposal is Article 114 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).
• Subsidiarity (for non-exclusive competence)
In line with other legislation concerning the type-approval of motor vehicles, the action under consideration is based on Article 114 of the TFEU ensuring the functioning of the internal market.
European Union action is necessary because of the need to avoid the emergence of barriers to the single market notably in the field of the automotive industry, and because of the transnational nature of air pollution and climate change. Even though the effects of the main toxic air pollutants are most severe close to the source, the effects on air quality are not limited to the local level and cross-border pollution is a serious environmental problem that often frustrates national solutions. Atmospheric modelling shows that the pollution emitted in one Member State contributes to pollution in other Member States. In order to solve the problem of air pollution, concerted action at the EU scale is required.
• Proportionality
The proposal is proportionate as it provides for the necessary legal change and at the same time does not go beyond what it necessary to achieve the objectives of reduction of pollutant emissions from motor vehicles on the one hand and ensuring legal certainty for vehicle manufacturers on the other. It provides for the necessary legal conditions to uphold, to the extent possible, a level playing field among manufacturers.
• Choice of the instrument
The use of a Regulation is appropriate because it amends an existing Regulation.
3. RESULTS OF EX-POST EVALUATIONS, STAKEHOLDER CONSULTATIONS AND IMPACT ASSESSMENTS
• Ex-post evaluations/fitness checks of existing legislation
• Stakeholder consultations
The Commission sent a questionnaire to automotive stakeholders before the adoption of the RDE conformity factors. This questionnaire asked for technical information and data to inform the assessment of the Commission. The questions focussed on the following three items:
a) Composition of the new diesel vehicle fleet regarding NOx reduction technologies;
b) Any available data on the current real driving emission performance of these vehicles;
c) Information on the generic improvement potential of their NOx emission performance.
Four replies were received. These replies came from the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA), the Association for Emissions Control by Catalyst (AECC), a vehicle manufacturers association (submitted under the condition of anonymity) and a major tier-1 supplier (submitted under the condition of anonymity). No individual vehicle manufacturer contributed information despite written and several oral requests in the relevant working groups. Of the four replies received, only the AECC and the tier-1 supplier response provided relevant information and data. The remaining two turned out to be of very limited use in the given context.
• Collection and use of expertise
Before the adoption of Regulation (EU) 2016/646, the Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) performed a meta-study of the NOx emissions data from Portable Emission Measurement Systems (PEMS) tests done on Euro 6 diesel vehicles. The resulting dataset comprised 36 diesel vehicles of different types and 234 individual testing trips. It was a comprehensive and reliable dataset, which showed that the median NOx emission level of Euro 6 diesel vehicles on the road was about 4 (i.e. four times the regulatory NOx limit).
• Impact assessment
This proposal does not require an impact assessment. This initiative simply changes the legal instrument by which the same existing conformity factors that are necessary for the correct application of the RDE test procedure are established, and empowers the Commission to further review downwards the conformity factor, to adapt it to technical progress. The conformity factors have no impact on the existing emission limits as set in Regulation (EC) No 715/2007, which were subject to an impact assessment at the time of adoption of Regulation (EC) 715/2007 12 .
• Fundamental rights
4. BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS
Not applicable.
5. OTHER ELEMENTS
• Implementation plans and monitoring, evaluation and reporting arrangements
Not applicable.
• Explanatory documents (for directives)
Not applicable.