Vehicle noise limits to be delayed by 7 years
Law to be rolled out in three phases.
Members of the European Parliament and member states reached a deal last night (5 November) which would weaken a European Union proposal to reduce the allowable amount of noise vehicles can emit.
The agreed position would delay the deadline for the new noise limits to 2027, compared to the deadline of 2021 proposed by the European Commission. The agreement would reduce noise levels by 2.6 decibels (dB), compared to the reduction of 3.4dB called for in the original proposal.
EU vehicle noise limits were first set in 1970, and were last revised in 1996. The current limit is 74dB.
Under the deal, the law would be rolled out in three phases. By 2017, carmakers will have to begin using a new test for vehicle noise that will take better account fo real-world driving conditions. In the second phase, noise will have to be reduced by 1-2 dB by 2021-23 for some categories of vehicles, with different deadlines for different categories. By 2027 all vehicles will have to meet the 2.6dB reduction.
The deal still needs to be approved by the Parliament’s environment committee, where it could still be undone. The EPP, ALDE, and ECR groups support the deal, but the S&D, GUE and Green groups oppose it.
Green transport group T&E blasted the deal, saying both MEPs and member states had given in to motor industry lobbying. “Because the standards will only apply to new vehicles in 15 years’ time, the full benefits from these updated noise standards won’t be heard for almost 30 years,” said Cécile Toubeau, a campaigner with the group.
A report commissioned for the Irish EU Presidency earlier this year found that while the Commission’s proposal would have provided a societal benefit of around €190 billion, the agreed deal, which closely resembles the Council’s position, would provide a benefit of €123 billion. In contrast, the total cost to the industry for the 2013-2040 period under the Commission proposal would have been €7 billion and now the agreed position will cost around €5.7 billion.
German Liberal MEP Holger Krahmer, who is a shadow rapporteur on the file, defended the deal reached in trilogue. “I will defend the package,” he said. “The annex is reasonable and leads to significant noise emission reductions from traffic. The Commission confirmed that as well.”
Miroslav Ouzký, the centre-right Czech MEP who led negotiations, found himself at the centre of a scandal last year when it was discovered that in the compromise amendment document he submitted to weaken the limits, a representative of German car manufacturer Porsche was listed as the author. Germany has been lobbying for less stringent noise limits, particularly for sports cars.