EU poised to water down new car pollution rules after industry lobbying

Exclusive: Nitrogen dioxide limits and approval tests practically unchanged from current rules under Euro 7 proposals

The EU is poised to water down a landmark piece of car pollution legislation after extensive lobbying from the automotive industry, which experts say will cause an estimated 100bn in health and environmental costs.

Analysis provided by the Consortium for Ultra-low Vehicle Emissions (Clove) exclusively to the Guardian and Voxeurop shows that half of the projected financial savings from the new Euro 7 standards on car emissions will be lost due to damage caused by excess nitrogen dioxide. This toxic gas is the main contaminant released by combustion engines, especially diesel ones, and was responsible for 49,000 premature deaths in the EU and 5,750 in the UK in just one year.