LENS presented its latest results during the POLIS Conference, which took place from 27-28 November 2024 in the German city of Karlsruhe. Our project partner Ake Sjödin from IVL presented on behalf of LENS by sharing the latest project results during session 1E “Air quality and climate protection: two sides of the same coin”. You can find all information about the event here.
Sjödin identified key challenges, including the lack of regular inspections for LVs, insufficient real-world emission testing, and the absence of city-specific policies addressing their pollution impact. The project aims to advance techniques for measuring pollutants and noise, characterize LVs’ performance in these areas, identify tampering cases in field surveys across European cities, and propose actionable recommendations.
Fieldwork conducted in cities of Leuven, Barcelona, and Paris revealed that about 10% of LVs were tampered with, leading to increased emissions and noise. The study found substantial improvements in regulated emissions from Euro 2 to Euro 5 standards, though tampering remained an issue, particularly modifications to exhaust systems, mufflers, and dB killers. While pollutant emissions showed significant reductions in compliance with newer standards, noise data requires further analysis.
The session concluded by emphasizing the necessity of policy changes, enforcement mechanisms, and continued research to mitigate the environmental and acoustic impact of light vehicles effectively.