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New European vehicle emissionregulations (Euro 5 & 6) and their impact on the industry

Presentation by Dr. habil Uwe Lahl at the World Refining & Fuels Conference-Europe, Brussels, 8 -10 May 2007

The continuous tightening of exhaust gas legislation since the early 90s has led to a substantial reduction in the emissions of classical pollutants within the EU. A 90 % reduction could be reached with respect to nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons. Additionally there has been a considerable reduction of about 90 % in benzene emissions. But even if the reductions look remarkable, it still is necessary to reduce the emissions of pollutants from traffic. This is particularly true for particle emissions and emission of nitrogen dioxides.

The next phase of exhaust gas legislation will therefore focus on tightening the requirements for diesel-powered passenger cars. Diesel cars have advantages in their CO2emissions, but emit far more than petrol cars with respect to PM and NO2which have adverse effects on the quality of our living standards. The share in diesel cars has been increasing steadily in many EUMember States, as is the case in Germany. It is expected that this trend will remain unbroken also in the future, in particular in the light of the CO2discussions. Diesel engines continue to be the engines of choice for light-heavy vehicles. In Europe, heavy-duty vehicles are almost exclusively powered by diesel engines anyway.