EURO 7 vehicles running exclusively on CO₂-neutral fuels outside the scope of the CO₂ fleet standards, and in conformity with Union law and the Union’s climate-neutrality objective, this regulation will need to be amended to include the possibility to type approve such vehicles”. Light-duty means passenger vehicles, and the ability to run “exclusively on CO₂-neutral fuels” presumably means either the ability to detect non-CO₂-neutral fuels or a way to prevent fossil fuels from being put in the vehicle. Time will tell whether sustainable and CO₂-neutral fuels become widely available and can be produced sufficiently cheaply to make new ICE vehicle production something that consumers and car manufacturers want. There is likely to always be a stubborn rump of ICE enthusiasts even if EV is found to be the only sensible way forward, but maybe simple economics will restrict them to using historic vehicles. However, this legislation leaves the door ajar for hydrocarbon combustion. To balance electricity demand against the unpredictable and intermittent renewable energy that we need to harness, there will be excess power available to produce fuels from captured CO₂. The problem with CO₂ is primarily one of concentration levels in the atmosphere, rather than CO₂ itself having a harmful effect on people and the environment. CO₂ is thought to be immediately dangerous only in concentration orders of magnitude higher than found in the atmosphere.¹ We should acknowledge that there is, in some quarters, significant opposition to the continuation of ICE vehicles, no matter what fuel is used. This opposition is broadly split into those with concern for air quality (which is little affected by local CO₂ emissions but is significantly affected by NO X , particulate, ammonia and hydrocarbon emissions), those with a concern for atmospheric CO₂ concentrations (which should be minimally increased if synthetic or bio-derived fuels are used) and those who stand to gain from an increasing transition to electric vehicles. It is reasonable to say that the text agreed upon² at the end of December 2023 has caused relief among most of the existing car manufacturers who are engaged in continuing ICE supply, and consternation on the part of those advocating for cleaner air and better public health and those automotive companies who are presently fully committed to their vehicles being battery-electric or fuel cell/electric. A year ago, these groups seemed poised to see significant reductions in ICE emissions enshrined in law, but they are left feeling disappointed at a missed opportunity. The original proposals were for significant tightening of emissions requirements, especially for carbon monoxide emissions from gasoline engines and NO X from diesels. For ICE and hybrid The forthcoming Euro 7 passenger cars, relatively regulations will consider little has changed, particulate emissions from sources other than with the only extra the powertrain for the requirement being the first time emissions of smaller particulates being counted. Emissions levels of CO, NO X and hydrocarbons are unchanged. However, for commercial vehicles, the emissions targets are a pretty drastic change. This is not necessarily the result of any ‘car lobby’ but an acknowledgment of the far greater impact of older medium-and heavy-duty vehicles on NO X concentrations as detailed in the report by White et al³, in which they state that “Euro 6d diesel cars and zero-emission cars have an almost identical effect on compliance with ambient air quality limit values and consequent population exposure. This holds true for all the pollutants examined: NO₂, PM₂ . ₅ and PM₁₀. Therefore, the choice of drivetrain (diesel or electric) in new passenger car registrations will have negligible impact on compliance with air quality limit values in European urban environments. The indistinguishable impact of replacing the new diesel passenger car portion of the vehicle fleet with zero-emission cars is observed at both city and national level; however, in both scenarios there remains residual NO₂ non-compliance in a number of European cities”. Although there is legislation to enforce the adoption of net zero passenger cars there is currently no realistic prospect of being 26 www.automotivepowertraintechnologyinternational.com / March 2024