This story was originally published by the Guardian and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration.
Volkswagen’s rigging of emissions tests for 11 million cars means they may be responsible for nearly 1 million tons of air pollution every year, roughly the same as the U.K.’s combined emissions for all power stations, vehicles, industry, and agriculture, a Guardian analysis suggests.
The carmaker has recalled 482,000 VW and Audi brand cars in the U.S. after the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) found models with Type EA 189 engines had been fitted with a device designed to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) under testing conditions.
A Guardian analysis found those U.S. vehicles would have spewed between 10,392 and 41,571 tons of toxic gas into the air each year if they had covered the average annual U.S. mileage. If they had complied with EPA standards, they would have emitted just 1,039 tons of NOx each year in total.
The company admitted the device may have been fitted to 11 million of its vehicles worldwide. If that proves correct, VW’s defective vehicles could be responsible for between 237,161 and 948,691 tons of NOx e... Read more
