'The ongoing scandal of certain car manufactures cheating on vehicles (diesel and petrol powered cars) emissions' tests is a matter of great concern for local and regional authorities, as those most affected by these situation are the people living in our towns and cities who breathe in these emissions with serious impact on their health. It has also become clear that similarly misleading information on C02 emissions has been provided by certain manufacturers, which risks undermining our efforts at combatting climate change.

 

The ENVE commission members  welcome the fact that new test cycles which are based on real-world driving conditions will finally be introduced at the EU level, but they wish to express their deep disappointment that national governments in the Council of Ministers have decided to still allow car manufacturers to exceed more than two times the emission limits required by EU law as of 2017, when testing will have to be moved from laboratories to roads. The ENVE members believe this relaxation of rules should not be accepted, as the CoR has previously underlined the crucial importance of addressing air quality problems at source.

Poor air quality is responsible for approximately 400,000 premature deaths in the EU ever year and has a disproportionately severe impact on the health of people with respiratory or cardiovascular conditions, the very young and elderly people.

 

As representatives of local communities and regions, ENVE members strive to ensure the public health of our citizens and we expect national governments and the EU level to do the same and not tolerate fraudulent practices which cause serious harm to our citizens. We also believe that appropriate forms of compensation must be paid by companies found to be responsible and that local authorities should receive a fair share of such compensation for the damages their citizens suffer, and to enable cities and regions to better implement clean-air programmes.'