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'Technology-bypass' threatens new laws
New laws and innovative technology should by now be producing a significant reduction in harmful vehicle emissions. But in Europe, governments are becoming increasingly concerned that behind the scenes, motorists and mechanics are tampering with the new technology to achieve better performance - even at the cost of higher emissions.
The European Environment Agency, an EU body covering 31 European countries including some non-EU members, estimates that as many as half the thousands of new diesel cars on Europe's roads have had their engines tampered with. This so-called electronic "chip tuning" has meant some vehicles are emitting three times the amount of pollution they were designed to emit. Much of the extra pollution is coming from particle emissions.
The problem has been highlighted in an agency policy review designed to examine progress as measured by the EU's key set of transport and environment integration indicators.
The agency has warned member governments that there is now "increasing evidence" that standardised test cycles used for the approval of vehicle types do not necessarily represent "real world driving conditions".
"The issue of 'chip-tuning' diesel vehicles to boost power at the expense of fuel consumption and low emissions is a cause for concern," says the agency's report.
In addition the agency has found evidence that standardised test cycles are not producing a true measure of the pollution levels new cars might produce in heavy traffic.
It says that with the two factors combined, city air quality is not improving as fast as the flow of new vehicles onto the roads might suggest. The agency believes that if vehicle greenhouse emissions are to be reduced, more effective policies will be needed - such as taxation measures tied to CO2 performance.
The scan also showed:
Plane problems
Although cars are a major contributor to greenhouse gas pollution, Europeans believe the growth in air transport will eventually see aircraft responsible for even more pollution than cars. According to the European Environment Agency cut price airlines are stimulating such growth in air traffic that the climatic impact will soon exceed cars and by 2030 will be twice as much as cars. "Along with international shipping, aviation is not regulated under the Kyoto Protocol," says the agency.
Hi-tech solutions
Air pollution from aircraft has been a nagging environmental issue for some years but there is now a flurry of research aimed at easing the problem. Nottingham University in England is reporting it has developed a new computer program for air traffic controllers to help them better juggle planes waiting for take-off with their engines running. The university say the program could cut such waiting times by up to 25% and thus save thousands of litres of fuel, cut pollution - and reduce airport noise too. Meanwhile Cambridge University and the UK's National Environmental Council have just established the new Institute for Aviation and the Environment to provide "an integrated approach to predicting and mitigating the future effects of aircraft emission". According to a joint statement, the new institute will investigate the physics and chemistry of aviation emissions from their formation in the aircraft engine to their impact on near-airport pollution and global climate change. It will also investigate technological and operational solutions to minimise that impact, along with possible regulatory policies.
Is some pollution "acceptable"?
How much government intervention will the public accept to ensure the community breathes clean air? The European Commission is hoping to find out with an online public opinion survey designed to test new clean air legislation. People are being asked whether they feel it is important to cut pollution, what sort of policies should be introduced and what as individuals they would be prepared to do to improve air quality. The questions are being posed against the background of new research showing the average European can expect their life expectancy to be cut by nine months because of air pollution and that 23% of the continent's forests are endangered by acid rain.
