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For a fresh breath

For a fresh breath  austria's exhaust emissions have been reduced by 56 per cent from 1991 levels, claims the European Commission. This was possible due to a system of ecopoints for heavy-duty vehicles. The ecopoints system was developed in response to "the deteriorating environmental situation caused by transit traffic' because of Austria's geographic location, between Italy and Germany. The system was started in 1992, and was designed to cut emissions of oxides of nitrogen (nox) by 60 per cent by 2003. It works by annually calculating a number of ecopoints equivalent to the number of trips made in 1991 multiplied by the nox target for the year in question. Each heavy goods vehicle has to

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