Volkswagen’s dishonesty regarding its emissions may have a more positive effect on the environment than you might expect. This week, the German carmaker agreed to commit more than $200 million to a fund with the primary purpose to cut diesel pollution. This is part of Volkswagen’s settlement regarding its 80,000 3.0-liter diesel vehicles that exceeded U.S. emissions limits. An official announcement of the hefty investment is expected to come on Monday, and comes in addition to the $2.7 billion the company agreed to pay as reparations for the emissions of another half-million 2.0-liter diesel vehicles.
Though the VW emissions scandal is now more than a year old, its repercussions have continued and a complete settlement has yet to be reached. As Reuters reports, negotiations involving the car maker, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, and lawyers for VW owners have been ongoing for weeks. That said, U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer, who oversaw the latest hearing regarding the car company, noted that the parties had made “substantial progress,” and that he was “optimistic that there will be a resolution.”
