The Volkswagen diesel emissions scandal might have started in the U.S., but it's becoming clear that the controversy has opened far deeper wounds in Europe. Though the European Union is known for its strict vehicle carbon dioxide emissions standards, the Volkswagen ordeal -- which centers around nitrogen oxides (NOx), a hazardous type of diesel pollutant -- has revealed profound weaknesses in the EU’s entire regulatory system. With millions of diesel vehicles on the road across Europe, the stakes are high -- and environmental groups are anxious not to let this scandal go to waste. Leading the charge against what he calls major weaknesses in regulation is Axel Friedrich, a chemist and activist who has spent the last 35 years agitating for cleaner auto emissions. Friedrich, with help from environmental group Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH), says the NOx emissions testing scandal extends well beyond VW. Vehicles from General Motors's European division Opel and French automaker Renault have been tested under his guidance and found wanting: Opel's Zafira 1.6 CDTi emitted up to 17 times the legally allowed levels of NOx in DUH tests, and Renault's Espace 1.6 dCi exceeded the Euro 6 level by as much as 25 times.
Friedrich argues that these results -- along with those from a number of other automakers that he says DUH will reveal in the coming weeks -- is mounting proof that VW's scandal is just the tip of a massive iceberg. Behind Europe's reputation for strict environmental regulation, he argues, lies a broken system. And the damage he is trying to head off is not distant and only potentially controversial, as so many emissions issues are. Rather, NOx is a carcinogen whose concentrations in Europe's urban centers are not dropping as fast as official emissions. "People need to understand that this is not a game," he told me. "People are dying."
Bloomberg