The Long Road to a Tyre Wear Policy Breakthrough

Every journey leaves a trace. Some are visible: a line on a map, a receipt from a petrol station, the memory of a landscape passing by the window. Others are almost invisible, yet far more enduring. With every acceleration, bend or stop at a red light, tyres shed tiny fragments of rubber and plastic polymers that settle on roads, wash into rivers, drift into the air and become part of the growing burden of microplastic pollution – the second largest source of microplastics in the EU, in fact.

That is why the adoption in June of tyre abrasion limits for C1 tyres – standard tyres made for passenger vehicles, such as cars and small SUVs – by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations (WP.29) marks more than a technical step. It is a political and environmental turning point – especially for the EU where regulations to restrict tyre abrasion have been on hold, pending this broader international agreement.

For decades, vehicle pollution policy focused on the exhaust pipe. Cleaner engines, better fuels and electrification changed that debate. But as tailpipe emissions have fallen, pollution from tyres and brakes has gained attention and is now recognised as a major source of microplastic and particulate air pollution. And now, after years of technical and policy work by regulators, experts, advocates and industry representatives to produce an international framework to curb tyre abrasion from passenger cars and vans, the first binding limits have been set.

Beginning 30 June 2028, new tyres for cars and vans sold in countries applying the regulation will need to meet the abrasion limits and manufacturers will have to prove compliance through approved road or laboratory tests. Although these requirements alone will not solve tyre microplastic pollution, they represent the first regulatory structure capable of reducing tyre emissions at scale. UNECE estimates that the initial limits, which will be in effect until 2032 – with more stringent limits set to be introduced the following year – could cut overall tyre abrasion by more than 10% and drive the replacement of about 30% of the higher-abrasion tyres sold in Europe and Japan with lower-shedding options.

For the EU specifically, the WP.29 C1 abrasion limits pave the way for the Euro 7 vehicle emissions standards, which were adopted in 2024 and represent the world’s first legal framework to restrict microplastic releases from tyres. Euro 7’s real environmental value will depend on how quickly high-abrasion tyres leave the market, how robustly the rules are enforced and to what extent the limits are strengthened over time. Meanwhile, UNECE will continue to work on tyres for heavier vehicles during 2026-28.

International policymakers have finally begun to effectively tackle microplastics from tyres, but the regulation for C1 tyres should not be seen as the end of the road. Outside of the EU, implementation of WP.29 will not be automatic – depending instead on countries also using it as the basis for tyre standards in their own markets. And now that it’s been unlocked, Euro 7 should provide a valuable blueprint for other governments to follow.

Selene Álvarez Peña works on The Pew Charitable Trusts’ preventing plastic pollution project.