About: NOx pollution

German coal plant exposed as Europe’s single worst air polluter

The Niederaussem coal plant and mine, operated by RWE, was singled out as Europe’s largest hotspot for Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) pollution, according to a groundbreaking analysis of new satellite imagery. London’s polluted air, caused mainly by transport emissions, comes second.

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.

Time to push e-mobility

Electric vehicles are an essential part of the solution to meeting Europe's climate and energy targets and the issue is becoming increasingly urgent, writes Kristian Ruby.

Electric mobility’s time has come

“You can resist an invading army; you cannot resist an idea whose time has come.” Victor Hugo obviously was not referring to electric mobility when he wrote these stirring lines, but his words would have been just as fitting, writes Alberto Piglia.

EU Commission taken to court over new emissions tests for vehicles

Environmental group ClientEarth has taken legal action against the European Commission's new rules for car emissions tests, which will allow manufacturers to keep their emissions control systems secret and, according to the group, could cause another Dieselgate-type scandal.

Germany’s car bosses bid to head off diesel ban with software patch

Germany's powerful car industry offered Wednesday (2 August) to provide a software upgrade that would cut harmful emissions in 5 million vehicles, but critics cried foul saying it is simply a "stop-gap fix" for a colossal pollution cheating scandal.

EU drafts tougher ‘Dieselgate’ rules to stop cheating

National ministers moved today (29 May) to crack down on emissions cheating after the Volkswagen "Dieselgate" scandal by giving the European Commission more powers to monitor testing and fine automakers.

MEPs reject EU road agency in vote for new post-Dieselgate car approval rules

The European Parliament approved tougher rules for the approval of new cars aimed at avoiding a repeat of the Volkswagen emissions cheating scandal but rejected amendments calling for a new, centralised EU road agency to oversee emissions testing.

Parliament Dieselgate committee closes with call to set up EU road agency

A European Parliament inquiry committee into the Dieselgate scandal approved a report yesterday (28 February) calling for a new agency to oversee road transport but stopped short of blaming new President Antonio Tajani for enabling widespread emissions cheating during his time as EU Industry Commissioner.

EU auditors join fight against deadly air pollution

The European Court of Auditors (ECA) will investigate the fight against air pollution, which kills half a million European citizens every year, the court announced on Friday (10 February).

MEPs agree to muscle up Commission after Dieselgate, reject EU road agency

MEPs in the Internal Market Committee voted to give the European Commission more powers to police car manufacturers, but left-wing groups lost their bid to set up a new EU agency tasked with preventing another Dieselgate scandal.

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.

Commission mulls MEPs’ call for post-Dieselgate shakeup

The European Commission is considering stripping DG Grow, its internal market unit, of the power to police car emissions after the Dieselgate scandal that erupted in September 2015.

Diesel cars are 10 times more toxic than trucks and buses, data shows

Modern diesel cars produce 10 times more toxic air pollution than heavy trucks and buses, new European data has revealed.

MEPs criticise delays to new rules on car engine emissions

Several EU countries, including Italy, France and Spain, have delayed the adoption of stricter car engine emissions' tests, despite evidence that this has allowed pollution to go above legal limits, a draft report by European Parliament said on Monday (19 December).

Commission takes legal action against seven EU countries over VW scandal

Seven countries have broken EU law for refusing to sanction Volkswagen after it used illegal software to manipulate its vehicles' emissions tests.

VW says ‘defeat device’ in conformity with European law

Volkswagen said the software allowing its diesel vehicles to evade emissions rules does not violate European law, as the carmaker aims to toughen its legal defenses in view of a possible rise in compensation claims in its home region.

Dieselgate researcher says Commission overhaul won’t bring big change

One of the researchers that put Volkswagen's emissions cheating on the map said the European Commission's proposal to more strictly police the car industry won't deliver 'fundamental change'.

Car emissions campaigners turn sights on Renault

Renault's flagship Espace minivan released toxic diesel emissions 25 times over legal limits in a Swiss study, despite complying with EU tests carried out at unrealistically low engine temperatures, a German environmental group said on Tuesday (24 November).

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.

US says VW also violated emission rules in larger engines

The Volkswagen emissions-cheating scandal widened Monday (2 November) as US regulators said the German automaker also included illegal "defeat devices" on its larger 3.0 liter diesel engines over the past three years.

Dieselgate post-mortem continues

The fallout from the emissions scandal has continued, with a meeting at the Bundestag taking place between the Greens, and the car lobby. EURACTIV’s partner Tagesspiegel reports.