EU concludes international agreement to tackle traffic related air pollution
The EU has signed an agreement with the US, Japan and China to carry out joint research to address the global issue of air pollution from transport, with a focus on emissions and vehicle testing The accord also foresees the creation of a scientific platform by the four partners to measure and benchmark air pollution, with its work providing scientific input to the forthcoming international emissions requirements for transport. 'Air pollution affects everyone on the planet,' said EU Research Commissioner Philippe Busquin after the agreement was signed on 10 December. 'With the ever increasing use of automobiles, the problem requires innovative solutions [...]. More research is needed to achieve this goal, and today's agreement will feed into the process by bringing together key players in this field.' The Commission itself is currently preparing new directives to establish exhaust limits for cars, and light and heavy duty vehicles within the Union. These limits will also be guided by the results of EU scientific collaboration within the framework of the new agreement. The EU has expertise from which to draw on when undertaking future cooperative initiatives. The Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) is responsible for providing scientific advice on vehicle emissions and air quality, and does so via its vehicle emissions laboratories (VELA) in Ispra, Italy. VELA specialises in characterising the physical chemistry and toxicology of emissions from all types of road and non road vehicles. The Commission's overall framework for air quality legislation and related policy is the clean air for Europe (CAFE) programme. CAFE has already identified key transport related problems that need to be addressed, including air pollutants such as particulate matter (PM) and ozone. Also signed on 10 December was a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the JRC, the US vehicle and fuel emissions laboratory, Japan's national traffic safety and environmental laboratory, and China's environmental protection administration. The MoU will enable scientific collaboration between recognised vehicle testing laboratories, with the aim of developing worldwide, aligned emissions standards.
Countries
China, Japan, United States