EU emissions to change

The European Parliament has backed a version of the Euro 7 pollution standards that would keep the current limits for passenger cars in place until 2030.

It follows a vote last month by EU ministers that would also dilute the original proposal tabled by the European Commission, so Euro 7 would supersede current Euro 6 rules.

The parliament’s version, which has been adopted by its environment committee and is expected to be approved on November 1, would keep current Euro 6 standards in place until July 1, 2030, for cars and vans – and until July 1, 2031, for buses and trucks. 

The commission’s original proposal, which was released in November last year, had set expiry dates of 2025 and 2027 for cars and trucks respectively, and would impose stricter limits on pollutants for cars and vans.

The regulation has become controversial across the European automotive industry with carmakers saying such compliance would be a costly distraction from the ultimate goal of zero-emission battery-electric vehicles, reports Automotive News Europe.