§ Mr. AingerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what is his assessment of the improvement in air quality in relation to(a) benzene, (b) oxides of sulphur, (c) lead, (d) PM10, (e) volatile organic compounds, (f) oxides of nitrogen and (g) ozone which will be achieved by the specifications for fuel quality and emissions (i) contained in the common position agreed by the Council of Ministers on the proposed Auto-Oil Directive and (ii) proposed by the European Parliament to the proposed Auto-Oil Directive. [33933]
§ Mr. Meacher[holding answer 12 March 1998]: Explanatory Memoranda 9856/96, 8827/97 and 8939/97 explain that the standards agreed in the common positions on the Auto-Oil fuels and cars directives will deliver very significant reductions in road transport emissions. They will make an important contribution to improving air quality and to achieving and maintaining our National Air Quality Strategy objectives, especially in urban areas. The European Parliament's proposals for more stringent standards would make a further contribution to improving air quality, not least by facilitating the uptake of cleaner vehicle technologies. The extent of the further reductions has not yet been evaluated.
The table gives a snapshot of the estimated emission reductions in the UK which would result from the Auto-Oil fuels and cars common positions. The benefits will continue to grow beyond 2010 as cars achieving these emissions standards represent a greater proportion of the vehicle fleet. These reductions are in addition to those which are already forecast as a result of existing emissions standards and other measures, which are shown as a "base case" figure. They take into account expected traffic growth, as predicted in the 1997 National Road Traffic Forecasts.
Estimated emissions reductions (thousands of tonnes) Pollutant NOx VOCs CO PM10 Base case emission levels in 2005 222 170 1,625 12.4 Emission levels in 2005 with implementation of 2000 standards 201 155 1,430 11.2 Percentage change 9 9 12 10 Base case emission levels in 2010 183 135 1,530 14 Emission levels in 2010 with implementation of 2000 and indicative 2005 standards 125 99 930 9.4 Percentage change 32 27 39 33 Note:
All emissions units in thousands of tonnes and rounded (except for PM10).