The General Court of the European Union overturned the emissions compliance levels under the new Real Driving Emissions (RDE) regulation in a verdict announced on 13 December. On the surface of it, this may look like a victory for cities wanting to be tougher on emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) from passenger cars and vans.
Real Driving Emissions is a tough regulation, but also a risky one
Discrepancies between best and worst diesel cars reaches record high
New Real Driving Emissions regulation increases pressure on annual inspection and maintenance testing system
Rethinking Scrappage For Addressing Vehicle Emissions
Scrappage schemes are controversial. In a 2011 academic paper* reviewing 26 studies assessing the outcomes of 18 scrappage schemes implemented around the world in 2008-11, the authors concluded that the emission effects of the schemes were ‘modest and occur within the short term.’ They also concluded that the cost-effectiveness of such schemes ‘is often quite poor.’
Cutting pollution and improving public health
Pollution is a major contributor to chronic human sickness, not just environmental damage, according to the 2017 annual report of England’s Chief Medical Officer, Professor Dame Sally Davies, released on 2 March 2018: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/chief-medical-officer-annual-report-2017-health-impacts-of-all-pollution-what-do-we-know. The report made 22 policy recommendations, many of which related to monitoring and ameliorating pollutant emissions.