The Working Party on Pollution and Energy (GRPE) is a working group of the World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations (Working Party 29; WP.29) within the institutional framework of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). This group of experts draws up proposals for regulations to protect the environment from emissions and to improve the energy consumption of vehicles. The FOEN is actively involved in a number of GRPE technical working groups.
UNECE World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations (WP.29): Working Party on Pollution and Energy (GRPE)
Over the years, the GRPE has tightened exhaust emission standards. In the 2010s, an outdated test cycle used to test air pollutants and carbon dioxide emissions from new cars was replaced by the Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicles Test Procedure (WLTP). This was developed by a working group of specialists from industry, academia and the public authorities, and a corresponding regulation was drawn up. Following a test phase to see whether the new standards worked in practice, the European Union introduced the WLTP along with the Euro 6c vehicle standard in 2017.
A GRPE technical working group has also drawn up minimum requirements for the service life of batteries in electric and hybrid vehicles – a further advance in improving the environmental compatibility of electric vehicles worldwide. By obliging manufacturers to produce long-lasting components, the minimum requirements also reduce pressure on the coveted critical raw materials required in battery production. They were adopted by the European Union in the Euro 7 vehicle standard.
While particulate matter emissions from engines have fallen sharply in recent years thanks to stricter exhaust regulations, the growing volume of traffic and heavier vehicles has led to an increase in particulate matter emissions from abrasion processes, in particular brake and tyre abrasion.
Various international bodies, in particular the UNECE, are working to develop braking systems for road vehicles that release fewer harmful particles into the environment. An internationally recognised test procedure for measuring particles from brake abrasion in road vehicles was adopted by WP.29 in July 2023. In April 2022 a tyre abrasion task force was also set up, whose remit includes developing an internationally harmonised method for measuring tyre abrasion – a prerequisite for setting limit values. The internationally harmonised method for measuring the abrasion of passenger car tyres proposed by the Tyre Abrasion Task Force was adopted by the WP.29 in June 2024.
Switzerland has concluded international agreements with the European Union on road transport, under which technical standards are harmonised. Internationally harmonised procedures, which Switzerland usually adopts at the same time as the EU, form the basis for new vehicle standards such as Euro 7.
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Last modification 11.07.2025
