Euro 7 emissions standard: (Not) a realistic solution?

At the "Change-Now" conference in Paris, CEO of Renault Luca de Meo took the opportunity to reveal his opinion on the imminent introduction of the new European emissions standard. In all likelihood, the so-called Euro 7 should apply from the middle of the decade. However, doubts are already emerging about its viability, as well as its effective contribution to the fight against climate change. Among the critical voices against the measure is precisely the Italian CEO.  

In his speech, De Meo mainly addresses the disproportionality of the emissions standard. It would make cars more expensive without, however, achieving significant results in the area of emission reduction. In particular, he said, the after-treatment of exhaust gases required by it was causing highs in end-user prices. "We have calculated what Euro-7 would mean for our model portfolio according to the currently known plans. We now know that a car would cost on average 1000 euros more to produce and that we would have costs of about one billion euros in the group ", explained the head of the French carmaker. "We would ultimately have to add these costs on top of the end customer prices ", he continues. Thus, affordable entry-level mobility, especially in the small and compact car segment, is not feasible. 

Although the price increase is therefore hardly manageable, the positive effects on the environment remain marginal, according to expert opinions. Expressed in figures, if the current Euro 6d standard were to be maintained until 2030, emissions from the Renault fleet would fall by 63 per cent per vehicle. With the planned introduction of Euro 7, according to the group's calculations, this would be 66.7 per cent. Weighing up the expected positive and negative consequences, Euro 7, according to the CEO, "would not bring us any closer to meaningful and realistic solutions".  

The introduction of the emissions standard should be seen in the broader context of the phase-out of the internal combustion engine. The European Union is pushing further measures to promote e-mobility directly and indirectly. These are intended to contribute to meeting the climate targets, but they also hide downsides. Electric cars are always included in the car manufacturers' fleets with zero grammes of CO2.   Pollutants and CO2 emissions that arise during production, among other things, are thus completely ignored. Even if the electricity used was not generated exclusively, or at least to a large extent, by renewable energy sources.  

Experts consider such techniques to be problematic fine calculations and are rather of the opinion that a purely electric strategy could be counterproductive before a considerable expansion of greener energy. For real change to take place, mobility alternatives should not only remain affordable for customers. Infrastructure changes should be made in earnest. Then a stricter emission standard like Euro 7 will have a realistic and more positive environmental impact without affecting the mobility of citizens.