City authorities could help crack down on emissions on their streetsA readout device measuring the emissions for a Volkswagen Touraneconomy, the productivity of Europe’s
workforce, and most seriously, the general
health of Europeans.”
While researchers have known for
several years that emissions laws weren’t
resulting in the kinds of drops that should
be expected, VW’s admission energised
the public debate over air pollution, with
far greater public scrutiny on vehicle
emissions. “We’ve had 10 times more
interest since VW have owned up to being
fraudulent,” says Tate.
But will that translate into long-term
change, and perhaps even the end of diesel
as a fuel, or will we be back to business asusual within a year? “There will be some
small effect but probably not a big one,”
says Tate. “The thing that could make a
big difference is what city authorities can
do. The motor industry, whilst it has the
lobbying power to inf luence the European
Commission, has it got the lobbying
power to go around all the major cities?”
Pleijel is similarly pessimistic, and adds
that there could be unanticipated
consequences if people lose trust in
environmental data. “This is very
important, because it could have side effects
outside VW and the associated trademarks,”
he says. “Customers may become reluctantto pay extra for the environment, because
they don’t want to be cheated.”
For VW, the priority is getting trust
back. “Volkswagen must put up a
convincing performance in every respect
over the coming years – with customers,
dealers, investors and authorities,” VW’s
Paul Buckett tells us. “That is the only way
we can win back trust. It will be a long,
difficult road. We do not underestimate
the magnitude of this challenge.” ß2015 2020Euro 6European Emissions standardDUNCAN GEERE IS A FREELANCE SCIENCE AND
TECHNOLOGY JOURNALIST, BASED IN GOTHENBURGLICENSED UK CARS BY
PROPULSION TYPEVehicles licensed (millions)
05252015101994 1998 2014PetrolDieselAlternative
fuels2002 2006 2010PDAFYear Source: Dr James Tate