Stricter air pollution rules for machinery on the way

The Euro VI levels for heavy-duty on-road engines should serve as a benchmark. Photo: -POD-/flickr.com/CC BY-NC-ND

Emission standards for the non-road sector should be extended and strengthened in line with the Euro VI standards for road vehicles, environmental groups demand.

Earlier this year a European Commission consultation suggested tightening emission limits for engines covered by the non-road mobile machinery (NRMM) directive and bringing more types of engines under the scope of these air pollution rules.

The NRMM directive regulates emissions of some major air pollutants (NOx, HC, PM, CO) from diesel and petrol engines in a wide variety of applications, including bulldozers, trains, chainsaws, larger inland boats and many other forms of machinery. The directive dates back to 1997, but has been amended and extended several times since then.

Despite the emission limits set by NRMM directive, emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particle matter (PM) pollutants from this sector are still high and have grown in relative terms. This is explained by the steep increase in the number of non-road machines put into service and by the fact that the emission limits set for NRMM are less strict compared to those mandated for similar engines used by road vehicles.

In its response to the consultation, green group Transport & Environment listed the following main priorities for the revision of the directive:

Given serious persistent air quality problems in Europe, Euro VI levels for heavy-duty on-road engines should serve as a benchmark for new standards for NRMM. We are concerned with the much lower ambition levels hinted at in the consultation document;
In particular there is a need to solve the problem of diesel PM emissions, and related black carbon, once and for all by introducing Euro VI equivalent standards for particle number count for all engines covered;
The scope of the legislation should be extended to also cover engines below 37kW and above 560 kW, and by also including stationary applications (e.g. diesel generators and air conditioning engines);
Following developments in standards for the on-road sector, we would prefer moving towards a regulation instead of a directive;
Standards should be fuel-neutral.
Greenhouse gas emissions (carbon dioxide and methane) should be measured and reported;
Exemptions, flexibilities etc. should be cut drastically so that it is impossible to sell machinery equipped engines complying with an old standard a limited time after entry into force of the standard;
In-service emissions need to be a top priority. As a minimum, relevant provisions of Euro VI legislation should be copied to also cover non-road engines;
Emissions from existing engines need to be addressed;
Transparency should be ensured by mandatory publication of engine emissions performance in an EU-wide publicly accessible database.

According to a recent Commission consultancy study prepared by IIASA for the revision of the EU’s Thematic Strategy on Air Pollution, the NRMM sector was responsible for 16 per cent of EU total emissions of nitrogen oxides in 2010 and 6 per cent of PM2.5 emissions.
The Commission is expected to come up with specific proposals for a revised NRMM directive later this year.

Christer Ågren

Consultation response from Transport & Environment

European Commission’s NRMM website

In this issue

Finding the ambition level

A tentative central ambition level for 2025 has been identified that would further reduce air pollution damage, but it is still insufficient to achieve the EU’s long-term objective of effectively protecting peoples’ health and the environment.

Editorial: Public money for public environmental goods

Potatoes, milk and bacon, almost everything we eat comes from agriculture. That is plain fact, but agriculture is also responsible for 90 per cent of the ammonia emissions and at least 11 per cent of the greenhouse gases in the European Union.

Significant cuts in carbon emissions within reach

The CO₂ emissions of the Nordic and Baltic countries can be cut by 70 per cent by 2020 or soon after, and by 95 per cent by 2030, without nuclear power and CCS, shows a new AirClim report.

Call for international nitrogen framework

A global framework on nutrients could be a way forward to address the extensive problems of pollution caused by excess nitrogen and other nutrients, suggests a recent UNEP report.

Coal pollution kills Indians

Air pollution from India’s coal power plants causes around 100,000 premature deaths every year – yet there are no national emission standards for key pollutants such as SO₂ and NOx.

Eight countries continue to exceed their emission ceilings

Car fleet dieselisation combined with high real-life driving emissions contribute to seven countries still failing to meet NOx reduction targets.

Stricter US standards for road vehicles proposed

The proposed Tier 3 standards should reduce emissions of smog-forming volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxides by 80 per cent and particulate matter by 70 per cent, compared to today’s car fleet average standards.

Every breath we take – air quality in Europe

In the 2013 edition of their Signals report, the European Environment Agency (EEA) takes a closer look at air quality. “Signals 2013 – Every breath we take” consists of short and accessible articles covering a wide range of aspects related to air quality.

Call for long-term CO2 targets

The European Parliament Environment Committee has proposed a 120kph speed limit for vans from 2014 and 2025 CO₂ targets for both cars and vans.

Shipping should cut greenhouse gases and air pollutants

Due to its dependence on fossil fuels and the fact that it is one of the least regulated emission sources, emissions from the marine transport sector contribute significantly and increasingly to air pollution and climate change.

Stricter air pollution rules for machinery on the way

Emission standards for the non-road sector should be extended and strengthened in line with the Euro VI standards for road vehicles, environmental groups demand.

Coal costs health €43 billion a year

A phase-out of coal power generation is imperative, with a moratorium on new coal power plants as a first step.

CCS sidelined by tenuous financing

Carbon, capture and storage (CCS) has still not proven to be anything else than an inordinately expensive technology on an experimental level. Nevertheless the European Commission continues to embrace it.

Smaller carbon footprint from food

German diets have become more climate-friendly in the past twenty years, but there is great scope to reduce the carbon footprint from food consumption even more.

Europe’s dirty dozen

The most polluting point sources in Europe increased their carbon, sulphur and nitrogen oxides emissions in 2011.

Main menu

Stricter air pollution rules for machinery on the way

In this issue

Finding the ambition level

Editorial: Public money for public environmental goods

Significant cuts in carbon emissions within reach

Call for international nitrogen framework

Coal pollution kills Indians

Eight countries continue to exceed their emission ceilings

Stricter US standards for road vehicles proposed

Every breath we take – air quality in Europe

Call for long-term CO2 targets

Shipping should cut greenhouse gases and air pollutants

Stricter air pollution rules for machinery on the way

Coal costs health €43 billion a year

CCS sidelined by tenuous financing

Smaller carbon footprint from food

Europe’s dirty dozen

Publications

Food for Thought

Northern forests, climate change and the UNFCCC

EU climate targets aligned with the Paris agreement’s 1.5°C objective

Baltic Sea Offshore Wind Collaborative-Learning project

Air pollution in Europe and children’s health

Climate Change: A Himalayan Odessey

No further discussion needed. The agreed global goal is to limit temperature rise to 1.5°C

Fossil-free electricity 2021

What we do

Air pollution

Climate Change

Policy initiatives

Do Your Bit!