Dieselgate costs 5,000 deaths more per year

Emissions from diesel cars rigged to appear eco-friendly may be responsible for 5,000 extra deaths from air pollution per year in Europe alone, according to a new study published on Monday.

The numbers are in line with previous assessments of deaths due to the so-called “Dieselgate” scandal, which erupted when carmaker Volkswagen admitted in 2015 to cheating on vehicle emissions tests. The new study, published in the journal Environmental Research Letters, focuses on the perils for Europe.

The researchers from Norway, Austria, Sweden and the Netherlands calculated that about 10,000 deaths in Europe per year can be attributed to small particle pollution from light duty diesel vehicles (LDDVs).

Almost half of these would have been avoided if emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) from diesel cars on the road had matched levels measured in the lab.

Petrol cars have much lower emissions. "If diesel car emissions were as low as petrol car emissions, three quarters or about 7,500 premature deaths could have been avoided" says Jens Borken-Kleefeld, transportation expert at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA).

The countries with the highest number of premature deaths attributable to fine particles from diesel cars, vans and light commercial vehicles are Italy, Germany and France. That is because of both their large populations and a high share of diesel cars. However, the risk per capita is almost twice as high in Italy as in France. "This reflects the very adverse pollution situation, particularly in highly populated Northern Italy", says research leader Jan Eiof Jonson from the Norwegian Meteorological Institute. The lowest risks are in Norway, Finland and Cyprus where risks are at least fourteen times lower than the EU28+ average.