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Don’t drop diesel just yet

While our society must wean itself off its dependence on highly-polluting fossil fuels, calls to eliminate diesel use are premature (“Driving a future without diesel”; Oct 12).

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Paul Chan Poh Hoi

While our society must wean itself off its dependence on highly-polluting fossil fuels, calls to eliminate diesel use are premature (“Driving a future without diesel”; Oct 12).

For one thing, the fuel efficiency of diesel vehicles and the carbon emissions per vehicle remain lower than equivalent petrol-powered vehicles.

The technology to address the higher PM2.5 emissions associated with diesel power does exist, such as diesel oxidation catalysts and diesel particulate filters. Diesel engines thus remain an acceptable substitute at this juncture.

Perhaps the more pressing concern is the current lack of readily available alternatives to diesel.

Although the development of electric vehicles has progressed, battery-powered cars remain expensive. The lack of supporting infrastructure, such as charging stations, makes them less practical for now.

Their net environmental footprint may be no better than conventional vehicles when one considers the fossil-fuel-driven national power grid and the toxic mining of rare earth metals for lithium-ion batteries.

Moreover, diesel remains the only option, by and large, for certain heavy industrial applications, such as manufacturing, overland supply chains and marine transport.

Hence, as we allow time for electric propulsion technology to mature and for national power grids to switch to more sustainable alternatives, the present institutional support for diesel should remain.

Higher tax rebates and incentives should be given not only to fully electric cars but also vehicles that comply with the Euro VI emission standards.

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