EC gaffe leaves carmakers in denial on toxic NO2 pollution

It was only a slip of the pen when the European Commission made the erroneous remark that 'most nitrogen dioxide originates in traffic fumes', but it seems to be having fatal results.


In February 2014 the European Commission (EC) launched legal proceedings against the UK for its failure to cut excessive levels of nitrogen dioxide, a toxic gas that is claiming the lives of nearly 6000 Londoners each year. The EC's press release stated that 'City dwellers are particularly exposed because most nitrogen dioxide originates in traffic fumes'. This is a mistake: most nitrogen dioxide originates in domestic and industrial combustion,whether in cities or outside.

You might think everyone would see that what the EC really meant to say was 'the deadly street concentrations of nitrogen dioxide originate in traffic fumes'. But people hear what they want to hear, and what the UK Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) heard was proof that the EC was 'demonising' cars, particularly the diesel cars in which their members have invested so much development effort. The SMMT's reaction was to launch a publicity campaign in 2015 to refute the EC's false evidence against them. The SMMT's killer argument is :

"It would take 42 million Euro-6 diesel cars to produce the same amount of NOx as a large coal-fired power station. Electricity generation is the biggest source of NOx emissions affecting air quality, followed by cars and commercial vehicles, heating and non-road transport."

The SMMT's unchallenged and heavily promoted views can be assumed to represent the views of its members. Since the UK government largely relies on industry leaders for its information,the SMMT's accurate but irrelevant defence of diesels must have been in the front of DEFRA's mind when reacting to the EC lawsuit and to the UK Supreme Court judgment of April 2015 requiring the UK to produce new plans to reduce NO2 pollution as soon as possible. This could explain the UK's relaxed attitude to regulating vehicle NO2 emissions, which has led to it being the only EU state to be subject to an infringement proceeding for ignoring EU law on NO2 limits.

The EC's press release goes on to provide gratuitous information which would encourage defensive motor manufacturers to believe the EC lawsuit was motivated by a desire to save the planet rather than to combat a public health crisis and save lives: 

"[Nitrogen oxides] cause acid rain, damaging plant and animal life in forests, lakes and rivers, and harming buildings and historical sites. They can also cause eutrophication, when an excess of nutrients such as nitrogen oxides and ammonia threatens biodiversity through the excessive growth of plants like algae." 

Nothing could be better calculated to obscure from engineers the fact that NO2 concentrations caused by diesel cars are killing humans in large numbers. How long has the EC being putting out such inaccurate and irrelevant material? Long enough to explain why a team of VW engineers flew to California in 2009 to fix a problem with a car that wouldn't pass the emission tests in that notoriously environmentalist state?