UNEP: Dieselgate will ‘push the electric revolution very quickly’

(EurActiv, 29 Sep 2016) The ‘Dieselgate’ scandal will mark an important step towards phasing out the hundred-year-old internal combustion engine which doesn’t have a place in a modern, low-carbon transport system, says Ulf Björnholm.

Ulf Björnholm is head of the EU office for the UN Environmental Programme. He spoke to EurActiv.com at the European Transport Forum in Brussels.

The European Commission announced its plans for reducing carbon emissions from the transport sector in July. Last year, EU countries approved new legislation for tests that measure cars’ emissions when they are out on roads, and the Commission proposed a new law to change the car type approval system. Does this tell us that dieselgate was really a wakeup call for EU legislators?

Yes, definitely. I think dieselgate is a gamechanger. My guess is it will be one important step towards basically phasing out the hundred-year-old internal combustion engine. It doesn’t have a place in a modern, low-carbon transport system. Except maybe in a few specific parts of the sector like heavy duty aviation. And there you need biofuels to deal with that.

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EurActiv, 29 Sep 2016: UNEP: Dieselgate will ‘push the electric revolution very quickly’