POLIS and Eurocities subscribe letter to European Commission about EURO 7/VII

POLIS and Eurocities have sent a joint letter to the European Commission expressing concern about the upcoming EURO 7/VII and urging more ambitious, straightforward, and effective action.

Euro 7/VII is a new tailpipe pollutant emission standard for cars and vans and a crucial element of the Smart and Sustainable Mobility package under the EU’s Green Deal. It is expected to be implemented in 2025 and is currently under development.

Vehicle emissions from motorized traffic (e.g., NOx) are a significant threat to public health, social equity, and the successful implementation of the European Commission’s Zero Pollution Action Plan. If we are to create the urban mobility shift required to tackle this issue, swift, targeted and effective action is needed.

POLIS has been following the discussions surrounding EURO 7/VII through the Advisory Group on Vehicle Emission Standards (AGVES) meetings. Due to our concerns over the possibility of a lost opportunity in proposing stricter emissions standards, we have joined Eurocities in penning a letter to the European Commission to express these concerns.

These concerns include:

• Potential lack of ambition in some requirements (e.g., cold-start and non-exhaust emissions).
• Continued postponement of the suggested regulations.
• Possible weakening of the proposed regulations in the following months, pushed by the opposition of the automotive industry.

The letter has been developed in coordination with feedback from POLIS member cities, who have relayed their perspectives on the new standards.

David Belliard, Vice-Mayor of Paris, said:

“The health and safety of our citizens must be the first concern of any regulator, at the local, national or European level. Thus, in order to reduce air pollution, we have to massively decarbonize road transport through strict European regulations and controls on emitted pollution.”

Martin Lutz, Head of Air Quality Management at the Department of Environment, Transport and Climate Protection for the city of Berlin, also stated:

“Euro 7 would be the key instrument to lead us there, and it’s important because, if you think about it, when you breathe and bike or walk on a pathway, you’re only a few meters from the exhaust.”

Jillian van der Gaag, Senior Policy Advisor at Municipality of Amsterdam, further said:

“The upcoming EURO 7 legislation must be ambitious enough to contribute seriously to achieving the current WHO Air Quality guidelines and to meet the needs of the millions of Europeans whose health and environment we are responsible for.”

As leading networks of European cities and regions, POLIS and Eurocities represent over three hundred European local and regional authorities, and thus, millions of European citizens living in urban areas. We are committed to supporting the Commission’s efforts to benefit the millions of Europeans for whose health and the environment we are responsible.

Several public authorities have already adopted the World Health Organization air quality standard as the reference within their environmental and transport policies in order to secure people’s right to breathe cleaner air. We thus ask the Commission to ensure that specific parts of the EURO 7/VII legislation will contribute to meet the WHO air quality standards and propose that:

• Cold-start emissions become part of future vehicle emissions legislation and testing.
• Vehicle durability expands to the entire vehicle lifecycle, with the necessary emissions control systems to monitor emission performance.
• All emerging harmful pollutants be considered in the exhaust emission standards.
• Non-exhaust emissions like the ones originated by abrasion of brakes and tires should be considered.

You can read the full letter here or scroll below to read it.

If you have any questions, please contact Pedro Homem de Gouveia (pgouveia@polisnetwork.eu), Senior Policy & Project Manager - Coordinator Governance & Integration - Coordinator Safety & Security, and/or Pedro Gomes (pgomes@polisnetwork.eu), Project Manager - Coordinator Clean Vehicles & Air Quality Working Group.