EU trials new way to measure emissions but will it make a difference?

An ungainly contraption that resembles a bicycle rack with tubing attached will become a common sight on cars around Europe over the coming months as a new way of measuring car pollution gains traction following the Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) scandal.

The Portable Emission Measurement System (PEMS) aims to supplement laboratory tests -- the flaws of which were laid bare by the VW experience -- with more realistic testing on roads.

But Europeans shouldn't expect to be breathing much cleaner air in the near future, experts and analysts say, because all the testing regimens in the world won't solve the problem until the European Union introduces much tougher pollution limits and finds a foolproof way to enforce them.

VW's use of a banned "defeat device" has led to the scrutiny of a system that has allowed nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions to reach up to seven times their European limits.

EU officials who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity said that industry manipulation of the testing regime had been obvious for years. The European Commission failed to stop it, they said, because of the influence of the auto industry and because protecting a pillar of the economy was for many a higher priority than the environment


Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-volkswagen-emissions-device-idUSKCN0WN18E


(More photos at link)

A worker attaches the flow tube to the back of a car to enable emissions testing to take place on the vehicle at 'Emissions Analytics' in west London.
REUTERS/HANNAH MCKAY