Evaluation of real-world vehicle emissions in Brussels
Brussels 2020
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The ICCT contracted Opus to carry out a massive monitoring campaign on real-world vehicle emissions in Brussels. Opus partnered with Securoad, an expert in traffic and enforcement in Belgium. Measurements had to be taken in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic, including a devastating second wave in the country while measurements were being taken, which was associated with severe mobility restrictions in the city.
More than 260,000 in-use emissions measurements of 130,588 unique vehicles using Opus remote sensing technology were collected. The data collected was analyzed with the dual goals of identifying the real-world effectiveness of key policies and regulations impacting the Brussels fleet and providing recommendations for their future development. These include the low emission zone (LEZ) implemented in the Brussels-Capital Region, the introduction of new stages of European emission standards for new vehicles, and more stringent periodic technical inspection requirements that Belgium has recently introduced.
The real-world nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from diesel passenger cars operating in Brussels greatly exceed regulatory limits for vehicle groups not subject to Real Driving Emissions (RDE) type-approval requirements. These groups include vehicles certified to Euro 4, 5, and 6 (pre-RDE) standards, which were found to have real-world NOx emissions three, four, and five times the respective laboratory type-approval limits.
Related to
The ICCT contracted Opus to carry out a massive monitoring campaign on real-world vehicle emissions in Brussels. Opus partnered with Securoad, an expert in traffic and enforcement in Belgium. Measurements had to be taken in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic, including a devastating second wave in the country while measurements were being taken, which was associated with severe mobility restrictions in the city.
More than 260,000 in-use emissions measurements of 130,588 unique vehicles using Opus remote sensing technology were collected. The data collected was analyzed with the dual goals of identifying the real-world effectiveness of key policies and regulations impacting the Brussels fleet and providing recommendations for their future development. These include the low emission zone (LEZ) implemented in the Brussels-Capital Region, the introduction of new stages of European emission standards for new vehicles, and more stringent periodic technical inspection requirements that Belgium has recently introduced.
The real-world nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from diesel passenger cars operating in Brussels greatly exceed regulatory limits for vehicle groups not subject to Real Driving Emissions (RDE) type-approval requirements. These groups include vehicles certified to Euro 4, 5, and 6 (pre-RDE) standards, which were found to have real-world NOx emissions three, four, and five times the respective laboratory type-approval limits.