London and Paris to introduce real-world fuel emissions testing for cars

Real-world fuel emissions testing will be introduced by London and Paris by 2017 to help score new cars based on how environmentally friendly they are, encouraging their uptake and reducing air pollution in cities.

The decision was made in a meeting between London Mayor Sadiq Khan and his Parisian counterpart Anne Hidalgo, along with senior city officials and representatives of several major car manufacturers.

Current emissions testing only regulate some pollutants and require vehicles to meet the standards in laboratory conditions, but the new scheme will score each model score based on all of the air pollutants they release in on-road conditions. These scores will then be made available online through dedicated websites to consumers.

The Volkswagen diesel scandal has heightened awareness of the shortcomings in current tests, leading many to call for a radical rethink of how emissions are measured.

Mayor Hidalgo announced a commitment with various charitable foundations to work with the International Council on Clean Transportation and Emissions Analytics to measure emissions using remote sensors and portable emissions monitoring equipment.

“By having ‘on the road’ testing I believe we will help Londoners make an informed choice and incentivise manufacturers to build cleaner vehicles sooner,” Sadiq Khan said.

“This scheme is also a fantastic example of how big cities around the world can pool their expertise and their influence to encourage big industry to clean up its act. The toxicity of the air in London and many other big cities is an outrage, and schemes of the type we are introducing in London and Paris have the potential to make a massive difference to the quality of the air we all breathe.”

Other cities part of the C40 climate leadership group have also committed to developing a global scoring system. These cities include Seol, Madrid, Mexico City, Milan, Moscow, Oslo and Tokyo.

London is introducing a £10 'T-charge' for high polluting vehicles in the city from autumn this year, while Khan has also proposed introducing the world's first Ultra Low Emission Zone in central London in 2019.