On 19 January 2012, the Working Party on Pollution and Energy, approved a proposal for an amendment to Regulation No. 49, concerning more stringent emission requirements for heavy duty vehicle engines. The proposal will be submitted to the World Forum in June 2012 for its final adoption. It will enter into force gradually as of the first quarter of 2013, with full application in January 2014.
The new ceilings introduce a reduction in emissions of 50% or more for Hydrocarbons, Non-methane hydrocarbons, Methane, Nitrogen oxides and Particulate matter. Some of these pollutants are contributing to global warming via their Green House Gas effect (methane for instance has a Global Warming Potential - for 100-year time horizon - 21 times higher than CO2*), while others have adverse effects on human health.
This modification is aimed at aligning the requirements on emissions of gaseous pollutants from engines used on heavy duty vehicles to the Euro VI legislation (EC Regulations 595/2009 and 582/2011), which will enter into force in the European Union in January 2013. It will allow all Parties to the 1958 Agreement, including the Member States of the European Union, Albania, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Malaysia, Montenegro, Norway, the Russian Federation, Serbia, Switzerland, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkey and Ukraine to apply these new ceilings.
The maximum emission limits allowed for engines used on heavy duty vehicles have been the object of several legislative initiatives since the 1980s, which have resulted in massive reductions in emissions of pollutants (see Table 1 below and Figure 1).
Table 1
Emission level and year of enforcement |
Test procedure (operating conditions) | Carbon monoxide | Hydrocarbons | Non-methane hydrocarbons | Methane | Nitrogen oxides | Particulate matter | |
CO (g/kWh) | HC (g/kWh) | NMHC (g/kWh) | CH4 (g/kWh) | NOx (g/kWh) | PM (g/kWh) | |||
Euro VI | 2014 | steady states | 1.5 | 0.13 | - | - | 0.4 | 0.01 |
transient | 4 | - | 0.16 | 0.5 | 0.46 | 0.01 | ||
Euro V | 2008 | steady states | 1.5 | 0.46 | - | - | 2 | 0.02 |
transient | 4 | - | 0.55 | 1.1 | 2 | 0.03 | ||
Euro IV | 2005 | steady states | 1.5 | 0.46 | - | - | 3.5 | 0.02 |
transient | 4 | - | 0.55 | 1.1 | 3.5 | 0.03 | ||
Euro III | 2000 | steady states | 2.1 | 0.66 | - | - | 5 | 0.1 |
transient | 5.45 | - | 0.78 | 1.6 | 5 | 0.16 | ||
Euro II | 1996 | steady states | 4 | 1.1 | - | - | 7 | 0.15 |
Euro I | 1991 | steady states | 4.5 | 1.1 | - | - | 8 | 0.36 |
Euro 0 | 1988 | steady states | 11.2 | 2.4 | - | - | 14.4 | - |
Note to editors
GRPE (Groupe de travail de la pollution et de l’énergie) is the subsidiary body of the World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations (WP.29) in charge of the preparation of regulatory proposals on pollution and energy efficiency.
Regulation No. 49 annexed to the 1958 Agreement, covers the emission of pollutants by heavy duty vehicle engines.
* http://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/ar4/wg1/en/ch2s2-10-2.html