About: dieselgate
Germany’s emissions fiasco – time to get priorities straight
As courts continue to order diesel bans in major cities, the German government needs to stop bending over backwards to protect industry, argue Hermann Ott and Jürgen Resch.
No toying around with air quality for city dwellers
Vehicle access restrictions have come under fire from the FIA motor car users group, which argues they are a whimsical instrument that cities spontaneously decided to employ. In fact, it was the car industry that was playing with real-world driving emissions, writes Karen Vancluysen.
Dieselgate – 35 million manipulated cars on our streets and still no action
Despite the European Parliament’s Dieselgate inquiry committee, the European Commission is standing by, hiding behind bureaucratic squabbling to avoid taking its responsibilities, write Claude Turmes and Zdzisław Krasnodębski.
Germany’s car industry monkey business
The revelation that German carmakers have tested diesel exhaust fumes on monkeys is just the most recent in an appalling catalogue of scandals in which the German auto industry has been embroiled, writes Greg Archer.
It’s time to switch gears on electric vehicle uptake across Europe
Next week's European Mobility Week in Brussels provides a good opportunity to take stock of what has been achieved to date, and what is still required to enable and accelerate the uptake of electric vehicles in Europe, write Hans De Keulenaer and Diego Garcia Carvajal.
Diesel summit takeaway: voluntary retrofits will not stop driving bans in cities
Germany’s diesel summit with car companies this week was a disappointment and does little to cut air pollution, writes Ugo Taddei.
‘Diesel summit’ analysis: Burning money to make diesel less dirty is not the solution – electric is
Summoning the heads of Germany’s carmakers to a ‘diesel summit’ could never give a positive glow and banish the dark clouds created by cities proposing diesel car bans.
Are NGOs immune to conflicts of interest?
The EU should keep its interaction with interest groups in check to avoid conflicts of interest. Whether those groups are corporate lobbies or NGOs, the same rules should apply, writes Tamar Kogman.
Will the Empire strike back in the next Dieselgate fight?
The battle over the EU's response to the Dieselgate scandal is drawing to a close. It pits the rebels advocating for more effective controls (the European Commission and Parliament) against the regressive forces of the Empire (some national governments and the car industry), writes Julia Poliscanova.
Rethinking the cost of conventionally fueled road transport
If the human health costs from air pollution were to be accounted and paid for by the fossil car industry, we would see the price tag of conventional cars double, writes Teodora Serafimova.
Turning back the clock on EU health protection is unthinkable
As we debate the future of Europe, the EU must not abandon public health, writes Nina Renshaw.
A once-in-a-generation opportunity to fix Dieselgate
To restore consumer trust, the European Parliament must agree an overhaul of EU rules for approving and checking a vehicle’s performance. It is now or never, writes Monique Goyens.
Does corruption threaten Europe?
Current debate rarely attributes the rise of populism in European politics to the perceived prevalence of corruption. Yet public opinion often shows that citizens believe their representatives to be corrupt, write Laurence Cockcroft and Anne-Christine Wegener.
Is Appliance-gate on the horizon?
Ahead of the annual review of Ecodesign and Labelling measures by the college of Commissioners, the executive was asked by political leaders and NGOs to unfreeze the Ecodesign and Labelling process, stalled for over a year, and to expand the scope of regulated products, Dr Yamina Saheb analyses the issue.
One year on, Dieselgate is a disturbing warning sign about the EU’s house bank
A year after Volkswagen admitted fiddling its diesel emissions, the European Investment Bank (EIB), whose loans backed the carmaker’s efforts to develop cleaner engines, is still unable to say whether or not public funds were used to rig emissions tests, writes Anna Roggenbuck.
Business and human rights: The world is still waiting for action
The international community adopted the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) in June 2011, pledging to address the adverse impacts of business activities. Five years later, progress has been minimal, writes Jerome Chaplier.
Emissions trading should not be a scapegoat for steel industry
Scapegoating climate protection is not only factually wrong, it will also prevent the German and European steel industry from gearing up for the future, writes Annalena Baerbock.
Fuel consumption test for passenger cars: Enough waiting
The European Commission has failed to live up to its promise of adopting a new test to measure the fuel consumption and CO2 emissions of passenger cars and must now deliver as a matter of urgency, writes Monique Goyens in an open letter to the EU executive.
EIB transparency a prerequisite for good governance
President of the European Investment Bank (EIB) Werner Hoyer will present the results of the bank’s operations in 2015 today (14 January). 2016 will be a crucial year for the bank in fulfilling its EU objectives, writes Xavier Sol.
Dieselgate: We still need better lab tests
All countries should speed up the adoption of more stringent emissions testing procedures, like the Worldwide Harmonised Light-duty Test Procedure. These provide a benchmark for emissions test under real-world conditions, writes Christian Friis Bach.
‘Better Regulation’ and the end of cheating?
In the midst of the ongoing Dieselgate scandal, Nina Renshaw and Jos Dings write that regulators need to be given back real authority and responsibility, and that the Commission has shown significant shortcomings.
Decarbonising road transport must be prioritised
Decarbonising European transport requires urgent action, but we are missing crucial opportunities to capitalise on available solutions, writes Robert Wright.
Europe’s Capital Markets Union needs to be climate proofed
The European Commission will need to work harder to ensure efforts manage climate and wider environmental, social and governance (ESG) risk do not inadvertently scupper the Capital Markets Union initiative, argues Ingrid Holmes.