Twitter Spaces conversation on 7 November, 12:00-12:45 (CET)

Join BEUC’s Monique Goyens and Eurocities’ André Sobczak to discuss why EU plans to reduce air pollutant emissions from cars, expected Wednesday 9 November, should be done right.

The European Union wants to tackle climate change and environmental pollution. This is visible in the Green Deal measures it has proposed to clean up the automotive sector.  

The most striking of these measures means that no new petrol and diesel car can be sold in the European market as of 2035. The EU is also on the cusp of improving electric car charging infrastructure to make range anxiety a thing of the past.

But the year is 2022. Many people will still be driving fossil fuel cars in the years to come. The EU is expected to lower air pollutant emissions from petrol and diesel cars that will be produced and sold well into the 2030s and driven into the 2040s. 'EURO’ standards progressively lower these kinds of emissions, such as nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particulate matter (PM). We are currently in the sixth generation of these air pollutant emissions reductions, known as EURO6.

A press leak of the EU’s long awaited policy proposal to reduce these air pollutant emissions from cars further by a seventh generation of standards (EURO7) is cause for alarm. The proposals effectively ignore the advice of experts, are unlikely to benefit second and third-hand car owners, and would mislead consumers about the environmental performance of their vehicle.

This is a reason for concern as it goes against the EU’s zero pollution action plan. Brand-new Eurobarometer stats reveal 67% of Europeans “who are aware of EU air quality standards say that they should be strengthened”.

On Monday, 7 November, join Monique Goyens (Director General at BEUC) and André Sobczak (Secretary General at EUROCITIES) for a lunchtime chat on Twitter at 12:00 Brussels time to find out more. Save the date here and mark your calendars.