Climate Change - Will diesel really be banned?

Mar 24, 2014
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All internal combustion engines will be banned eventually. However, it is going to be a long time before there are viable alternatives so, hopefully, politicians won't make the decision for short term ideological reasons, and wait until there are real alternatives.........
 
Nov 11, 2009
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This adds little to the debate that hasn’t already been offered. Yes EU 6 ad blue cars are low emission but the organisation AECC (Association for Emmisions Control by Catalyst) aren’t exactly independent as they are a group of European companies that make emission control systems. The trend towards electrification is/will hit their business hard. So one can see why they want to see diesel given less emotive treatment.
 
Mar 14, 2005
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As other clive points out the article is from a party with diesel related interests. And yes IC engines will continue to be part of the transport solution for many years even beyond the governments deadline, becasue the deadline is only restricting the sale of new IC vehicles , it's not forcing all IC vehicles off the roads. That will take time as owners will run their old vehicles until they need to be changed, and there will still be a secondhand market.

The article states
"In the past decade alone, diesel engines have made great strides in improving their efficiency. This has resulted in fuel cost and environmental benefits for drivers and wider society" This is a strange use of the concepts of "environmental benefits" it sort of suggests that modern diesels improve the environment, it should of course be understood that it means moderns diesel do less damage to the environment.

I can't rule out other pressures building on owners of IC vehicles to consider changing earlier, things like low or zero emmision zone, increased road fund tax, higher taxation on IC fuels, commercial costs to produce fuels. etc
 
May 7, 2012
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It depends on what the politicians decide. They are more swayed by popular opinion that facts, so anything could happen. If the options being considered now become too unpopular then U turns are always possible. Older diesels will certainly be hit, and longer term diesel cars may become a problem, but with scientific advancements and politics anything can happen.
 
Mar 24, 2014
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Raywood said:
It depends on what the politicians decide. They are more swayed by popular opinion that facts,

And don't forget that politicians are rather short sighted; they can rarely see more than 5 years ahead (the usual maximum distance towards the next General Election).
 
Jun 23, 2019
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Electric cars will evolve, the only all electric suitable for towing is a Tesla, but personally speaking that is out of my price range. Until a car suitable for towing is made affordable, we are stuck with diesels or be pushed ou altogether Popular opinion will win with the politicians. Small groups of caravanners will have to join up for a bigger voice, and to the voice even bigger, get the caravan parks on board.
 
Oct 8, 2006
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Interesting that in running tests the Euro6 VW diesel as used in the Passat is now one of the cleanest engines on the road!
Other things that have come up recently:
With people moving to petrol cars CO2 levels have shot up in the last couple of years and increase as the car ages. Conversely diesels produce comparatively little CO2 at a constant level with age.
Greens complain about particulates - but whilst the petrol engine doesn't produce much it makes just as much from the tyres running on the road as any other car - and that applies to electric cars with so-called zero emission!
No-one - and here I mean specifically our elected representatives - seems to be able to get their heads around the idea of where all of the extra electricity will come from to charge all of these electric vehicles and what about laying the cables to the charge points, not to mention people who do not have driveways and have to park on the road...... And of course don't forget that in most cases the battery will need to be replaced about every 5 years at heaven knows how many thousands of pounds each?

No, the IC engine is here for a good long time yet!

(rant mode off)
 
Mar 14, 2005
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Woodentop said:
...
No-one - and here I mean specifically our elected representatives - seems to be able to get their heads around the idea of where all of the extra electricity will come from to charge all of these electric vehicles and what about laying the cables to the charge points, not to mention people who do not have driveways and have to park on the road...... And of course don't forget that in most cases the battery will need to be replaced about every 5 years at heaven knows how many thousands of pounds each?...

We have enough capacity capacity within our present power generation system to charge all the cars. but it will needs a smart charging systems to spread the load. But also there is a steady growth of renewable generation and of course solar power .

There is a problem for people who do not have drives or dedicated parking spots but that where it may need a change of habit to find a fast charger when shopping or whilst at work. Its not unlike finding a filling station for IC cars just takes a bit longer, and as battery technology improves charging times are reducing.

The evidence is that EV batteries are actually lasting significantly longer than the poor estimates touted by the IC fraternity who are dead set against EV's. Even when a battery is not so good for an EV it still has quite a significant value when recycled into power storage systems, and even end of life the materials are highly recyclable.

We don't necessarily have all the answers now, but they are coming, and of course there's isn't going to be a point in time when suddenly everyone switches to EV's it will be gradual process over several decades.

I don't think there is any chance in my life time when diesels or petrol vehicles will become emission zero, they may become less polluting, but as long as the fuel is burnt under pressure, they will never achieve complete combustion with no harmful by products.
 
Nov 11, 2009
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ProfJohnL said:
Woodentop said:
...
No-one - and here I mean specifically our elected representatives - seems to be able to get their heads around the idea of where all of the extra electricity will come from to charge all of these electric vehicles and what about laying the cables to the charge points, not to mention people who do not have driveways and have to park on the road...... And of course don't forget that in most cases the battery will need to be replaced about every 5 years at heaven knows how many thousands of pounds each?...

We have enough capacity capacity within our present power generation system to charge all the cars. but it will needs a smart charging systems to spread the load. But also there is a steady growth of renewable generation and of course solar power .

There is a problem for people who do not have drives or dedicated parking spots but that where it may need a change of habit to find a fast charger when shopping or whilst at work. Its not unlike finding a filling station for IC cars just takes a bit longer, and as battery technology improves charging times are reducing.

The evidence is that EV batteries are actually lasting significantly longer than the poor estimates touted by the IC fraternity who are dead set against EV's. Even when a battery is not so good for an EV it still has quite a significant value when recycled into power storage systems, and even end of life the materials are highly recyclable.

We don't necessarily have all the answers now, but they are coming, and of course there's isn't going to be a point in time when suddenly everyone switches to EV's it will be gradual process over several decades.

I don't think there is any chance in my life time when diesels or petrol vehicles will become emission zero, they may become less polluting, but as long as the fuel is burnt under pressure, they will never achieve complete combustion with no harmful by products.

A recent Imperial College study predicted that to meet the Governments target for 2050 requires a doubling of generation capacity. As well as transport the biggest domestic change would be the transition from gas to electricity for heating/cooking. The debate has to consider the total requirements for change not just cars.
 
Jul 15, 2008
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...........the future on tap electricity anywhere you want it :whistle:

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May 7, 2012
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My nephew is CEO of one of the power supply companies. He is convinced that with energy saving in other areas we will have the generating capacity, but distribution of charging facilities will need far more investment and may prevent the governments plans in the long run.
 

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