NordenBladet —
The Deputy Chairman of the EUAC Maria Jufereva-Skuratovski called the improvement of air quality and the consequent protection of human health as a noble and vital goal. “We must understand that the new requirements will somewhat raise the price of vehicles,” said the Deputy Chairman, pointing out that the rise in prices must remain minimal because the planned rise in VAT and income taxes might otherwise negatively affect the accessibility of cars in Estonia. “It is also important to make sure that the initiative does not constitute an impediment to developing and introducing vehicles with zero CO2 emissions,” she added.
In addition to reducing vehicle emissions, the Euro 7 standards aim to uniformise the emission standards which have previously depended on the type of vehicle and the source of fuel, and to ensure that the vehicles remain sustainable longer in real life conditions. For Estonia, it is important to achieve a balance between the introduction of technological innovations and the subsequent rise in prices.
The initiative does not concern only emissions, but also pollution from breaks and tyres. Estonia is of a position that ice grip tyres should remain outside the scope of the initiative, otherwise the regulation might reduce their grip and lead to a significant increase in their prices.
Air pollution caused an estimated 300,000 premature deaths in the EU in 2018. The main source of air pollution in cities is road transport. The European Commission predicts that the new requirements will increase the price of vehicles to some extent; however, the burden to the health care system will be reduced and the whole society will gain EUR 133 billion due to the reduction in dangerous air pollution.
The Committee meeting was attended by the Ministry of Climate Deputy Secretary General for Transport Sander Salmu who presented the initiative.
The EUAC decided to approve the Government’s positions on the proposal for a regulation on type-approval of motor vehicles and engines and of systems, components and separate technical units intended for such vehicles, with respect to their emissions and battery durability (Euro 7) COM(2022) 586 in line with the opinions of the Environment Committee and the Economic Affairs Committee.
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Link uudisele: European Union Affairs Committee supports reducing vehicle emissions
Source: Parliament of Estonia