The EU Parliament pushes for pollution cameras

Technology such as Opus RSD (Remote Sensing Devices) makes it as easy to measure a vehicle’s pollutants as its speed. The introduction of pollution cameras is now being discussed at the highest European level.

The issue is being spearheaded by the Belgian social-democratic politician Kathleen van Brempt, who sits on the European Parliament’s Committee on Industry, Research and Energy.

Van Brempt is a heavyweight in the field of emission issues – she was the Chair of the Inquiry Committee which investigated Dieselgate, and her political foundations lie in one of the European Parliament’s largest groups: the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D). She had succeeded in getting the backing of the European Parliament in the implementation of pollution cameras the use of which is also supported by the EU Commission, the EU’s executive arm. Only negotiations with the Council of Ministers, the second Chamber of EU legislation, remain to be accomplished to ensure their EU-wide use.

Many cities have already established Low Emission Zones (LEZs). However, a newly bought vehicle that complies with the Euro 5 or early Euro 6 standard can pollute just as much or even more than an older model car. This is not fair. Instead, with the pollution camera technology you can penalize those vehicles that are causing the most pollution. Cheating one’s way through a LEZ is otherwise relatively easy, with little risk of getting caught. New technology makes this completely impossible.

Opus RSD also identifies cars that have been illegally modified after purchase, such as by chip tuning, by removing the particulate filter or the catalytic converter, or by closing off the exhaust recirculation valve or the AdBlue injector. Most of these cheats can currently not even be detected by way of a regular periodic inspection in garages – hardly ever out on the roads as part of normal traffic checks. Opus RSD, however, reveals such cheats immediately on the road. Soon, it won’t just be many of Europe’s road signs that are green, but its roads as well.

www.euobserver.com/environment
www.nl.metrotime.be/
www.3sat.de/mediathek (7:50 – 9:30)
The Real Urban Emissions Initiative