Large storage tank of Ammonia at a fertilizer plant in Cubatão, Sao Paulo State, Brazil. Luis Veiga / The Image Bank / Getty Images
The shipping industry is coming to grips with its egregious carbon footprint, as it has an outsized contribution to greenhouse gas emissions and to the dumping of chemicals into open seas. Already, the global shipping industry contributes about 2 percent of global carbon emissions, about the same as Germany, as the BBC reported.
<p>In its efforts to clean up its act, the industry is looking to stop burning diesel and is exploring using ammonia as its fuel source. When ammonia burns, it does not create carbon dioxide emissions, as the BBC reported.</p>
<p>Recently, the European Union awarded just over $11 million to the ShipFC project, which is composed of 14 firms looking to make maritime shipping a bit greener. The money will be used to outfit a shipping vessel used by Norwegian energy company Equinor that has been running on diesel for 17 years with ammonia fuel cells, as <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/01/24/equinor-to-run-ship-fitted-with-ammonia-fuel-cells.html" target="_blank">CNBC reported</a>.</p>
<p>"Together with Equinor, we are now launching a full-scale research project to test a propulsion solution based on fuel cells running on pure and emission-free ammonia," Jan Fredrik Meling, who is the CEO of Eidesvik Offshore, which made the ship, said according to CNBC.</p>
<p>"The goal is to install fuel cell modules with a total power of 2 MW (megawatts) on board Viking Energy in 2024," he added. "This will make the vessel the world's first emission-free supply vessel."</p>
<p>One of the hang-ups right now is that making ammonia is actually a huge source of carbon emissions, according to a report from the <a href="https://royalsociety.org/topics-policy/projects/low-carbon-energy-programme/green-ammonia" target="_blank">Royal Society</a>. Ammonia production actually accounts for 1.8 percent of global CO2 emissions, which is by far the most of any chemical, as the BBC reported.</p>
<p>While producing ammonia is carbon-intensive, scientists believe that a cleaner, carbon-free way to produce ammonia will happen soon, either by trapping CO2 and burying it or by creating 'green' ammonia, according to the Royal Society report.</p>
<p>"We see a very big interest from the market in ammonia as a fuel – even though there are challenges," Peter Kirkeby, a spokesman for Man Energy Solutions, which is making ammonia powered engines, said to the BBC. "We expect the first ships fuelled with ammonia will be existing tankers that are already transporting ammonia for fertilizer. They know how to handle it."</p>
<p>Some of the largest names in shipping are getting behind the effort to use the fertilizer by-product as an alternative to shipping fuel. Recently, Korean Register, which verifies and certifies ships worldwide, touted ammonia as a viable clean energy since it does not require a large amount of technical expertise to use as fuel.</p>
<p>"The strength of ammonia is that it is relatively easy to store due to the rational energy, density and liquefaction temperature compared to hydrogen, the production and transport costs are lower compared to other carbon-neutral fuels, and has the technology for stable production and transport," a Korean Register technical report said, as <a href="https://www.seatrade-maritime.com/bunkering/korean-register-backs-ammonia-viable-carbon-free-marine-fuel" target="_blank">Seatrade Maritime News reported</a>. </p>
<p>However, there are still caveats. For example, ammonia does not burn as efficiently as diesel. It also creates nitrogen oxides, which are greenhouse gasses. However, the Royal Society report is optimistic that technology will address those problems, according to the BBC. </p>
<p>"Ammonia is the only zero-carbon fuel that will get you across the oceans," said the Royal Society's lead author, Bill David, as the BBC reported. And yet, he added, "In terms of emissions from industrial processes, ammonia comes only after cement and steel, so we need to decarbonize the production of ammonia."</p>
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Yard owner Ped Rossiter removes spare parts from a old, end-of-life Ford Transit as it is processed at Pylle Motor Spares and Metal Processing, a licensed scrap yard near Somerset in the UK in 2017 when the UK government had announced its ban on the sale of petrol and diesel powered cars and vans from 2040. The move followed similar pledges in France and has seen a number of car manufacturers offering substantial savings or 'scrappage' deals on new cars if customers trade-in older more polluting cars. Matt Cardy / Getty Images
Britain announced that it will ban sales of new diesel and gasoline powered cars in 15 years last week. That was five years earlier than expected, but necessary for the UK to reach its goal of net-zero emissions by 2050, according to a statement from the prime minister's office, as CNN reported.
<p>The UK's Transportation Secretary Grant Shapps, revised that number this week, when he told BBC Radio 5 Live it could happen by 2032, adding there would be consultation, as the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/business-51474769?intlink_from_url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science_and_environment&link_location=live-reporting-story" target="_blank">BBC reported</a>.</p>
<p>"Michael Gove announced the original 2040, the Prime Minister last week said actually we would like to do that by 2035 at the latest," Shapps said in the interview, as the <a href="https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/cars/1241215/petrol-diesel-car-ban-transport-secretary-grant-shapps-electric-cars" target="_blank">Express reported</a>. "We have said 2035 or even 2032. That's in consultation, we will say 2032-2035."</p>
<p>The 2032 target puts the UK in line with <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/Scotland" rel="noopener noreferrer">Scotland</a>, which, three years ago, pledged to ban sales of new combustion engine cars by 2032. However, Scotland does not have the authority to ban new cars, so it plans to phase out the need for combustion engines, by reducing the number of gas stations and adding many more charging stations, as the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/business-51474769?intlink_from_url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science_and_environment&link_location=live-reporting-story" target="_blank">BBC</a> reported.</p>
<p>Glasgow, in Scotland, will host COP26 later this year, and the UK government is laying out its environmental proposals in the build-up the November UN conference, as the BBC reported. </p>
<p>The proposed ban also includes hybrid cars, so the only sales that will be allowed are fully electric or hydrogen cars and vans, according to the BBC.</p>
<p>Predictably, representatives from the automotive industry have balked against the timeline, raising concerns about whether the government would continue to subsidize sales of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/electric-vehicles" rel="noopener noreferrer">electric vehicles</a>, a dearth of charging infrastructure, and potential job losses, as CNN reported.</p>
<p>"It's extremely concerning that government has seemingly moved the goalposts for consumers and industry on such a critical issue," Mike Hawes, the chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, said in a statement, as CNN reported. "With current demand for this still expensive technology still just a fraction of sales, it's clear that accelerating an already very challenging ambition will take more than industry investment."</p>
<p>The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders's numbers show that while electric car sales rose 144 percent last year in the UK, they make up less than two percent of the total number of cars on the road, as the Express reported. In 2019, nearly 1.5 million new combustion engines cars were sold in Britain. Only 37,000 electric cars were sold. </p>
<p>Since charging infrastructure is not in place yet, many car buyers have anxiety about running out of a charge and being stuck. In his interview, Shapps sought to ease anxiety by assuring the public that additional infrastructure for electric cars was part of the government's budget.</p>
<p>"We have domestic car producers and we want to help them to transition so we are doing a lot of work," Shapps said in his interview, as the Express reported. "In fact tomorrow I'm meeting with the car manufacturers on this very subject. We are putting in about £1.5billion at the moment and there is more to come."</p>
<p>Prime Minister Boris Johnson has pledged that no driver will be more than 30 miles away from a charging station. Yet, a considerable investment is needed to make that claim a reality, according to the Express.<a href="https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/cars/1241215/petrol-diesel-car-ban-transport-secretary-grant-shapps-electric-cars" target="_blank"></a></p>
<p>The commitment pairs the UK with several countries phasing out greenhouse gas emitting combustion engines, including <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/Norway" rel="noopener noreferrer">Norway</a>, which wants all new passenger cars and vans sold in the country to be zero-emission vehicles by 2025, and India, which has called for new cars sold there to be powered by electricity by 2030, as CNN reported.</p>
<p><br/></p>From Your Site Articles
- Bristol Diesel Ban Approved in Effort to Clean Air - EcoWatch ›
- UK Bans All New Petrol and Diesel Cars by 2040 - EcoWatch ›
- Scotland to Ban Sale of New Gas and Diesel Cars by 2032 - EcoWatch ›
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Why Aren't School Buses Electric? These Coloradans Are Sick of Diesel
07 December 2018
Renewable Energy
Buses head out at the Denver Public Schools Hilltop Terminal Nov. 10, 2017. Andy Cross / The Denver Post via Getty Images
By Corey Binns
Before her two kids returned to school at the end of last summer, Lorena Osorio stood before the Westminster, Colorado, school board and gave heartfelt testimony about raising her asthmatic son, now a student at the local high school. "My son was only three years old when he first suffered from asthma," she said. Like most kids, he rode a diesel school bus. Some afternoons he arrived home struggling to breathe.
<p>Osorio and her family live just north of Denver, where children are at particularly high risk for respiratory illnesses. Air quality there ranks among the worst in the nation, according to an American Lung Association <a href="https://www.lung.org/our-initiatives/healthy-air/sota/city-rankings/most-polluted-cities.html" target="_blank">report</a>.</p><p>That evening at the school board meeting, Osorio stood alongside a Spanish translator working with <a href="https://conservationco.org/protegete/" target="_blank">Protégete</a>, the Latino outreach arm of the environmental nonprofit <a href="https://conservationco.org" target="_blank">Conservation Colorado</a>. The group runs a <a href="http://origin.lcv.org/chispa/clean-buses-healthy-ninos/" target="_blank">Clean Buses for Healthy Niños</a> campaign, an initiative of the League of Conservation Voters, which advocates across the country for states to trade in their diesel school buses for <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/electric-vehicles">electric</a> ones, particularly in <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/experts/juanita-constible/us-air-pollution-completely-outrageous-1" target="_blank">communities of color and low-income areas, which suffer disproportionately from air pollution</a>.</p><p>In Colorado, more than 4,000 yellow school buses run on diesel. They carry 42 percent of the state's school kids and spew out nearly 50,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions a year. Each electric school bus can save districts nearly $2,000 a year in fuel and $4,400 a year in maintenance costs, according to a <a href="https://copirgfoundation.org/reports/cof/electric-buses" target="_blank">report</a> by the Colorado Public Interest Research Group (CoPIRG) Foundation, Frontier Group and Environment Colorado.</p><p>Colorado school districts may now apply for state funding for a new fleet of electric buses via the <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/media/2016/160628-0" target="_blank">Volkswagen diesel emissions cheating scandal settlement</a>, as Osorio explained. That settlement resulted in more than $4 billion being split among 44 states plus Washington, DC and Puerto Rico for use in environmental mitigation and to promote adoption of zero-emissions technology. "It is our responsibility to clean up our contaminated air," Osorio told the board members.</p><p>Thanks in part to the efforts of Conservation Colorado, CoPIRG, the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project and NRDC, Colorado has earmarked <a href="https://www.denverpost.com/2018/03/23/colorado-volkswagen-pollution-settlement-plans/" target="_blank">$18 million of its settlement funds</a> to replace about 450 trucks, school buses, shuttle buses and other vehicles with alternative-fuel or electric vehicles. Another portion of the funds will pay for charging stations, a necessary part of the electric vehicle infrastructure.</p><p>Advocates say that improvements in our transportation sector—one of the largest contributors to greenhouse gases across the nation—are key to addressing both our changing <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-change">climate</a> and public health challenges. CoPIRG director Danny Katz noted that Denver puts out ozone alerts to urge residents to stay indoors on bad days, something he calls incongruous with the state's reputation as a destination for nature lovers. "<a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/air-pollution">Air pollution</a> is literally impacting our ability to live an active outdoor lifestyle that is central to our quality of life here," he said. "This is especially bad for the 343,000 Coloradans with asthma, but ultimately this impacts everyone."</p><p>Still, the momentum for change has been slow to build. For example, in Westminster, the school board has so far deemed the program impractical for its district's use. "Given [our] size—9,500 students—and the fact that we replace, at most, one vehicle a year, the electric bus program does not make sense for the district," said its chief communications officer, Steve Saunders. And while nearby Denver Public Schools has been in conversation about alternative fuels and electric school buses and their benefits, the district has made no purchase plans. But on the northern side of the Denver metro area, Adams County School District 12—which serves about 39,000 students across five municipalities—has applied for grants for eight buses.<br></p><p>Meanwhile, environmental advocates are eagerly awaiting leadership on the issue by the state's incoming governor, Jared Polis, who was <a href="https://conservationco.org/2018/11/elections-2018-recap/" target="_blank">endorsed by Conservation Colorado</a> for his record on fighting for clean air and climate action. They are also waiting for the technology itself. Blue Bird—North America's top school bus manufacturer—<a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2018/07/17/volkswagen-diesel-emissions-settlement-buyback-repair/788575002/" target="_blank">delivered its first</a> electric buses to districts in Ontario and California only this past September. (In December 2016, <a href="https://www.energy.gov/eere/articles/energy-department-announces-18-million-investment-accelerate-development-plug-electric" target="_blank">the corporation received $4.4 million from the U.S. Department of Energy</a> for research and the development of a zero-emissions electric school bus using vehicle-to-grid technology by 2019.)</p><p>Despite the modest pace of the transition, however, analysts see promise: <a href="https://about.bnef.com/blog/e-buses-surge-even-faster-evs-conventional-vehicles-fade/" target="_blank">Bloomberg New Energy Finance</a> (BNEF) estimates that in the second half of the 2020s, electric buses will take off even faster than electric vehicles, filling 84 percent of the market by 2030. As Colin McKerracher, lead analyst on advanced transportation for BNEF, noted in May, "Developments over the last 12 months, such as manufacturers' plans for model roll-outs and new regulations on urban pollution, have bolstered our bullish view of the prospects for EVs."</p><p>Those prospects could be further improved if fleet managers and school districts partner up with electric utilities. As NRDC senior attorney <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/experts/max-baumhefner" target="_blank">Max Baumhefner</a> explained, utilities are increasingly looking to use the big batteries in electric school buses to lower the cost of managing a grid with large amounts of variable electricity generation like wind and solar. "Putting kids in zero-emission buses is motivation enough," he noted, "but when those buses are stationary (which is most of the day and all night), they can be charged when wind or solar generation is abundant, and [school districts] can get paid to put that electricity back onto the grid when it is most needed."</p><p>Grassroots groups are poised to play a big role in electric bus adoption in Colorado. During the past two years, Protégete has worked hard to bring attention to the issue in the Latino community in Denver. Juan Pérez Sáez, one of the group's community organizers, led a team in collecting comments from Latino residents and bringing people to the state's public hearings. Some described how high housing prices forced them to live, work and play in the city's industrial outskirts, next to highways and near factories and refineries, where dirty air is a daily fact of life and asthma rates are high.</p><p>In fact, as Pérez Sáez noted, <a href="https://www.lung.org/about-us/blog/2016/05/kids-missing-school.html" target="_blank">asthma is a leading cause across the U.S. for absenteeism in schools</a>. "It means children are not having the opportunity to be educated in an environment that is safe for them," he said, "and that should be a priority for everyone."</p><p>In July, Pérez Sáez traveled with fellow community members and environmental justice leaders from Nevada, Arizona and Colorado to the <a href="https://www.denverpost.com/2018/03/23/colorado-volkswagen-pollution-settlement-plans/" target="_blank">Rally for Clean Air</a> in Santa Fe, New Mexico, a state that has seen <a href="https://www.publicnewsservice.org/2018-07-19/environment/air-quality-methane-rally-ahead-of-u-s-governors-meeting-in-santa-fe/a63369-1" target="_blank">increasing air pollution yet little progress on electric school buses</a> or other climate action under the outgoing Republican governor, Susana Martinez. Under Martinez, the New Mexico Environment Department has argued that electric buses wouldn't be a cost-effective use of its VW settlement funds, despite the fact that 1 out of every 11 of the state's children has asthma.</p><p>The rally took place as Martinez and other state lawmakers were gathering for an annual meeting of the National Governors Association. Protégete joined forces with the <a href="http://www.cleanride4kids.org/blog/stories/a-peoples-convening-rally-for-clean-air-cleanride4kids-at-the-nga-2018-summer-meeting/" target="_blank">League of Conservation Voters, Chispa</a> activists, <a href="https://www.momscleanairforce.org/state-of-new-mexico/" target="_blank">Moms Clean Air Force</a>, <a href="https://cvnmef.org/juntos/" target="_blank">Juntos</a> and other organizations to demand justice for communities disproportionately affected by asthma and other respiratory illnesses. Pérez Sáez marched alongside a crowd of parents and students, with some kids wearing surgical masks and dressed in yellow school bus costumes.</p><p>We should change the narrative of the environmental movement, Pérez Sáez said. "If you want to be an environmentalist, you can be an environmentalist. You don't need to have the money to buy your own electric car, but we can all advocate to get public transit, to get electric zero-emission school buses. And that will impact everyone at the same level."</p>
<p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="f68e3" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="92N0F51576661968"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1033036763277807616" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">A #Koch-Fueled Attack on #Electric Buses Picks Up Speed #electricvehicles https://t.co/v98YI1cN2U</div> — EcoWatch (@EcoWatch)<a href="https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/statuses/1033036763277807616">1535130131.0</a></blockquote></div>
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The Spanish government is considering a slew of new climate-regulations in order to slash its greenhouse gas emissions, including a ban on sale of gasoline and diesel cars beginning in 2040.
A draft of the country's "Law on Climate Change and Energy Transition" published Tuesday also proposes measures such as ending fossil fuels subsidies, a ban on fracking, halting new oil exploration licenses and a transition to 100 percent renewable energy sources by 2050, according to media reports.
<p>
If enacted, the law would bring major changes to Spain, which is Europe's second-largest carmaker after Germany, and the ninth-largest globally. Brands such as Daimler, Ford, Nissan, Peugeot Citroen, Renault and Volkswagen have manufacturing plants in the country.
</p><p>
"Some of the most important necessary changes affect transport," the document said, per
<a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-spain-emissions/spain-to-propose-ban-on-sale-of-petrol-diesel-cars-from-2040-idUSKCN1NI1SE" target="_blank">Reuters</a>. "From 2040, the registration and sale in Spain of passenger cars and light commercial vehicles that directly emit carbon dioxide will not be permitted."
</p><p>
This the nation's first law on emissions reduction and clean energy, according to
<a href="http://www.climatechangenews.com/2018/11/13/spain-plans-ban-petrol-diesel-cars-fossil-fuels-subsidies/" target="_blank">Climate Home News</a>. Overall, the aim is to cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least 20 percent by 2030 and by 90 percent by 2050, compared to 1990 levels.
</p><p>
"Our proposal is to reduce Spain's current greenhouse gas emissions by a third in just a decade, which we consider an international milestone and a sign of our firm commitment to the fight against climate change," Spain's ecological transition minister Teresa Ribera told the publication.
</p><p>
<span></span>Spain joins other European countries such as <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/france-ban-cars-gasoline-diesel-2454322912.html">France</a>, the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/uk-ban-petrol-diesel-2465723145.html">UK</a>, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-10-02/denmark-plans-2030-ban-on-fossil-fuel-car-sales-premier-says" target="_blank">Denmark</a>, <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/scotland-diesel-ban-2482199606.html">Scotland</a>, the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/europe-gasoline-vehicles-2495953780.html" target="_blank">Netherlands</a> and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/will-norway-ban-sales-of-gas-powered-cars-by-2025-1891164280.html">Norway</a> that have proposed similar <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/electric-vehicles-revolution-2468727224.html">internal combustion engine bans</a> in order to tackle climate change. Even car-obsessed <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/germany-diesel-cars-2540356084.html">Germany</a> has allowed its cities to ban diesel vehicles from its roads to combat <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/air-pollution" target="_self">air pollution</a>. <span></span>
</p><p>
Spain's minority government is led by Socialist Pedro Sánchez, who has served as prime minister since June. His party holds less than one-quarter of the seats in parliament. The climate legislation will need the support of other parliamentary parties in order for it to pass.
</p><p>
José Luis García Ortega from
<a href="https://es.greenpeace.org/es/" target="_blank">Greenpeace España</a> told Climate Home News that the government's proposals are actually not strong enough to meet the<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/paris-agreement"> Paris agreement</a>'s goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. He said Spain needs to reduce its emissions to net-zero and switch to renewables by 2040 instead of 2050
</p><p>
"We just can't afford to wait," he said.
</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="db4e9" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="9TUENP1576683783"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="920436791068577793" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Wildfires Rage Through Portugal and Spain, Kill at Least 39 https://t.co/Ym9f9mo23j @wattsupwiththat @climateinstitut</div> — EcoWatch (@EcoWatch)<a href="https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/statuses/920436791068577793">1508284206.0</a></blockquote></div>
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A 9-year-old girl's death from asthma has been linked to illegal levels of air pollution in the UK, the first such reported fatality.
Ella Kissi-Debrah, who lived just 80 feet from London's busy and highly polluted South Circular Road, died in February 2013 after suffering three years of seizures and nearly 30 admissions to the hospital.
<p>
In a report on her death, Stephen Holgate, an expert on asthma and air pollution at the University of Southampton, said there was a "striking association" between the times the child was admitted to the hospital and recorded spikes in air pollution around her home.
<span></span>
</p><p>
A copy of Holgate's report, obtained by the
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/jul/04/report-links-childs-asthma-death-to-illegal-levels-of-air-pollution" target="_blank">Guardian</a>, determined that the levels of nitrogen dioxide, which is emitted from <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/diesel">diesel</a> vehicles, were consistently above the legal limit of 40 micrograms per cubic meter.
</p><p>
The report stated there was a "real prospect that without unlawful levels of air pollution, Ella would not have died."
</p><p>
Ella's family is calling for re-hearing into her death on the basis of the new evidence. If the family is successful, “it will be the first time that air pollution has been cited on a UK death certificate,"
<a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/family-call-for-new-inquest-after-daughter-s-death-linked-to-pollution-fxc32glg5" target="_blank">The Times</a> reported.
</p><p>
Holgate's report was based on records gathered from a government-monitored air pollution monitoring station in Catford, a mile from Ella's house, and another three miles from her home, according to
<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-44612642" target="_blank">BBC News</a>. Ella often walked 30-40 minutes to school along the South Circular Road. Or she would be driven and had to sit in lengthy traffic jams.
</p><p>
Ella died after one of the "worst air pollution episodes in her locality," Holgate found.
</p><p>
Ella's family has set up a <a href="http://ellaroberta.org/" target="_blank">foundation</a> to celebrate Ella's life and to advocate for further research into severe asthma.
</p><p>
"In the UK, asthma is the number one childhood illness and the foundation continues to raise awareness of the dangers of this debilitating illness," the organizers write on their website. "The foundation campaigns for Clean Air in London and for better diagnosis and treatment of asthma and other respiratory illnesses."
</p><p>
Ella's mother Rosamund said she hopes her daughter's death sparks change.
</p><p>
"Children are breathing in dirty air—my dream is that her legacy will be to clean up the air so no child or family will ever, ever have to suffer the way we did," she told
<a href="https://www.lbc.co.uk/radio/presenters/tom-swarbrick/mother-whose-daughters-death-linked-air-pollution/" target="_blank">LBC</a> in a recent interview.
</p><p>
The <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/air-pollution-world-health-2565257455.html" target="_blank">latest</a> World Health Organization air quality report, which covers data from 108 countries and 4,300 cities, revealed that air pollution kills 7 million people every year.
</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="3695c" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="HU2U1S1576661990"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="991734245877059585" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Air Pollution Kills 7 Million a Year, Mostly in Poorer Countries https://t.co/3YN54vaDRE #AirPollution… https://t.co/7dEm5I4Wnx</div> — EcoWatch (@EcoWatch)<a href="https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/statuses/991734245877059585">1525282844.0</a></blockquote></div>
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CC0 Public Domain
A new analysis reveals that the latest models of diesel cars approved for sale since the 2015 Volkswagen "dieselgate" scandal are exceeding nitrogen oxides (NOx) limits set by the Europe Union.
For the study, the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) used a "difficult-to-impossible to cheat" emissions test involving remote-sensing technology and statistical analysis to measure real-world exhaust emissions on more than 700,000 cars and 4,850 vehicle models across Europe.
<p>The results were "a striking confirmation of [the] worst fears about diesel cars," said the U.S.-based ICCT, as quoted by the <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/9d052960-6903-11e8-b6eb-4acfcfb08c11" target="_blank">Financial Times</a>. </p><p>According to their findings, all Euro 6 rated cars—the latest emissions standard for diesels—exceeded the Euro 6 diesel NOx emissions limits measured in real-world driving. </p><p>For Euro 6 cars in particular, the researchers also found:</p><ul class="ee-ul"><li>Four manufacturer groups had average emissions more than 12 times above the Euro 6 diesel type-approval limit, and the highest-emitting vehicle family has emissions 18 times the limit.</li><li>All Euro 6 diesel models rated exceeded the Euro 6 diesel NOx emissions limits measured in real-world driving.</li><li>The highest-emitting petrol Euro 6 vehicle family has approximately the same level of NOx emissions as the lowest-emitting diesel vehicle family.</li></ul><p>The results were compiled in a new rating database called <a href="https://www.trueinitiative.org/" target="_blank">The Real Urban Emissions Initiative</a> (TRUE). The study also found that all of the Euro 3, 4 and 5 diesels were in the red. Gasoline-fueled vehicles, in contrast, fared much better. Most Euro 3-5 petroleum vehicles had good or moderate ratings. And all Euro 6 petrol cars received a “good" or "moderate" rating.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xNzk1NDM1Ny9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1NzIwNDQ3Nn0.NFk7M6RoYP_jrSrlS0TpU6lcY9XUPNJpZriqFufbtcc/img.png?width=980" id="81d4c" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="f4fbb641308e5d30271baa8c7f60578f" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="add photo credit...">ICCT</small></p><p>NOx pollution, which is emitted by automobiles, trucks and various non-road vehicles, is harmful to human health and the environment. Emissions of NOx exhaust gases can be linked to 38,000 premature deaths worldwide, including 1,100 deaths in the U.S., <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/05/170515111557.htm" target="_blank">according</a> to University of Colorado Boulder researchers.</p><p>The EU has a baseline limit of 0.08mph of nitrogen oxides per kilometer. But as the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/jun/06/impossible-to-cheat-emissions-tests-show-almost-all-new-diesels-still-dirty" target="_blank">Guardian</a> noted, the TRUE analysis reveals that diesel models released in 2016 were still on average five times above that limit. </p><p>"We can really conclude that pretty much all Euro 6 diesels on the market are not clean," Peter Mock, managing director of the ICCT in Europe, told the Financial Times. </p><p>Greg Archer, of the campaign group Transport & Environment, which is part of the TRUE initiative, added to the Guardian: "The True rating exposes the legacy of dieselgate—tens of millions of dirty diesels that are still on the roads producing the toxic smog we daily breathe. It identifies the worst performing models and regulators must act to require carmakers to clean these up."</p><p>The European Automobile Manufacturers' Association, which represents 15 major Europe-based car, van, truck and bus makers, called the study "misleading." </p><p>They contend the study is based on remote sensing results collected between 2011 and 2017, and therefore do not evaluate the on-road performance of the latest diesel vehicles approved to the Euro 6 diesel standard since September 2017. </p><p>"The claims from the new 'TRUE' study are misleading for consumers," stated Erik Jonnaert, secretary general of the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association. "EU policy makers will be equally disappointed that there is no acknowledgement that the latest Euro 6 diesel cars complying with the new RDE legislation are very clean."</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="a2d2a" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="REHO441576662759"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="973551867123896321" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Three Years After 'Dieselgate,' VW Fails Pollution Tests https://t.co/JogiY4ED3Q @NRDC @greenpeaceusa @UCSUSA @SierraClub #VW</div> — EcoWatch (@EcoWatch)<a href="https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/statuses/973551867123896321">1520947827.0</a></blockquote></div>
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German carmaker Volkswagen said it will stop animal testing after coming under intense public condemnation for financing experiments on the effects of diesel exhaust on monkeys.
Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess made the vow in a letter sent to the German branch of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).
<p>
PETA publicized the
<a href="https://www.peta.org/action/action-alerts/monkeys-abused-volkswagen-inhalation-test/" target="_blank">announcement</a> on Monday. The animal rights group said Volkswagen will "never again use animals in testing unless required to do so by law" and will include the new ban in company's code of conduct that will be updated later this year.
</p><p>
<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/25/world/europe/volkswagen-diesel-emissions-monkeys.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a> reported in January that the automaker funded a study in which macaque monkeys sat for hours in airtight chambers watching cartoons while inhaling diesel emissions from a Volkswagen Beetle and an old pickup truck. Diesel emissions experiments on monkeys were also documented in the new Netflix investigative series <em>Dirty Money. </em>
</p><p>
The macaque tests were carried out by the Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute, a contracted laboratory based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The vehicle happened to be rigged with the Volkswagen's
<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/volkswagen-pollution-tests-2546875918.html" target="_blank">emissions-cheating</a> software, which led to its notorious 2015 "dieselgate" scandal.
</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="4fc7b" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="M9TITT1576662223"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1003750661551509505" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">BREAKING: After thousands of you spoke out against @Volkswagen for using monkeys in cruel inhalation tests, the com… https://t.co/vdeJMUgKjD</div> — PETA Shares (@PETA Shares)<a href="https://twitter.com/PETAShares/statuses/1003750661551509505">1528147781.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p><p>
"Research projects and studies must always be balanced with consideration of ethical and moral questions," Diess wrote in the letter to PETA, as quoted by
<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/04/business/volkswagen-animal-testing-peta-monkeys.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a>. "Volkswagen explicitly distances itself from all forms of animal abuse. In the future, we will rule out all testing on animals, as long as there are no pressing—such as legal—reasons that would make this necessary."
</p><p>
<span></span>Diess also said in the letter that the studies did not violate local laws.
</p><p>
<span></span>PETA, which <a href="https://www.peta.org/blog/volkswagens-new-emissions-scandal/" target="_blank">vigorously protested</a> the experiments, celebrated the news.
</p><p>
"Volkswagen did the right thing in pledging not to conduct tests on animals, which are irrelevant to human health and not required by law," said PETA senior vice president Kathy Guillermo in a statement. "PETA is calling on other carmakers that still test on animals to follow suit and embrace modern and humane animal-free research methods instead."
</p><p>
Volkswagen is still climbing out of its emissions scam, in which the company installed a "<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/vw-deception-not-an-isolated-case-and-not-just-the-auto-industry-1882100738.html" target="_blank">defeat mechanism</a>" in up to 11 million cars to ensure that the engine did not pollute during government tests. Affected cars emitted up to 40 times the legal amount of nitrogen oxide when driven outside the laboratory. VW has paid out $31 billion due to the scandal.
</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="a2d2a" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="QF73O81576662223"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="973551867123896321" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Three Years After 'Dieselgate,' VW Fails Pollution Tests https://t.co/JogiY4ED3Q @NRDC @greenpeaceusa @UCSUSA @SierraClub #VW</div> — EcoWatch (@EcoWatch)<a href="https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/statuses/973551867123896321">1520947827.0</a></blockquote></div>
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VW Golf TDI clean diesel at the 2010 Washington Auto Show. Mario Roberto Duran Ortiz / CC BY-SA 3.0
Volkswagen (VW) cars recalled and fixed after 2015's "dieselgate" emissions cheating scandal are still failing air pollution tests conducted by the Australian Automobile Association (AAA), The AFP reported Monday.
AAA tested the cars outside of the laboratory and found that, while they emitted less than before the recall, they still exceeded Australia's legal limits.
<p>"Emissions analysis ... found an affected VW diesel vehicle to be using up to 14 percent more diesel after recall, and still emitting noxious emissions more than 400 percent higher than levels observed in laboratory testing," an AAA statement said.<a href="https://phys.org/news/2018-03-vws-diesel-pollution-recalls.html%23jCp" target="_blank"></a></p> <p>VW came under fire in 2015 when it was discovered that the company had installed a "<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/vw-deception-not-an-isolated-case-and-not-just-the-auto-industry-1882100738.html" target="_self">defeat mechanism</a>" in up to 11 million cars. The mechanism would ensure that the engine did not pollute during government tests, then enable the car to resume polluting when it sensed the tests were complete. Affected cars emitted up to 40 times the legal amount of nitrogen oxide when driven outside the laboratory. </p><p>According to the AAA, the results indicate that it is more accurate to conduct driving tests in real-world conditions than in controlled settings. </p><p>VW rejected the findings and told AFP that the updated cars "continue to satisfy European and Australian emissions standards." </p><p>Stakes are high for VW, which has already paid out $31 billion due to the scandal, but they are even higher for the health of humans and the environment. </p><p>Nitrogen oxide released from diesel combustion engines combines with the oxygen in the atmosphere to form nitrogen dioxide, which can worsen respiratory problems like asthma and bronchitis and cause acid rain, <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/vw-scandal-causes-small-but-irreversible-environmental-damage/" target="_blank">Scientific American</a> explained in an article about the 2015 scandal. </p><p>However, the scandal also reinforced how much cars pollute even when they are not cheating or failing emissions tests. </p><p>Travis Bradford, director of Energy and Environment Concentration at Columbia University, told Scientific American that the modified VW vehicles had not added significantly to global pollution levels.</p><p>"Unfortunately, in the grand scheme of things, this is a drop in the bucket in terms of our aggregate pollution," Bradford said. </p><p>But that is more a condemnation of the status quo than a free pass for VW.</p><p>This year, a study published in <a href="http://www.biologicalpsychiatryjournal.com/article/S0006-3223(18)30064-7/fulltext" target="_blank">Biological Psychiatry</a> found that even levels of air pollution ruled "safe" by the European Union can impair fetal brain development, Medical Daily <a href="http://www.medicaldaily.com/safe-level-pollution-exposure-can-harm-pre-birth-brain-development-423044" target="_blank">reported Monday</a>. </p><p>When it comes to <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/" target="_self">climate change</a>, data published by the U.S. <a href="https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/global-greenhouse-gas-emissions-data" target="_blank">Environmental Protection Agency</a> (EPA) said that transportation, including cars and trucks, accounted for 14 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions in 2010. </p><p>The era of the electric car can't come fast enough.</p>
<p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="e1691" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="V9VMQG1576661718"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="908148458233716737" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Volkswagen Group to Offer Electric Version For All 300 Models By 2030 https://t.co/fjUQC25nmj @ChevyVolt @NissanLeaf</div> — EcoWatch (@EcoWatch)<a href="https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/statuses/908148458233716737">1505354439.0</a></blockquote></div>
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Trending
The Mercedes-Benz Museum in Untertürkheim with the city of Stuttgart behind. Daimler
German cities can ban older diesel vehicles from its roads to combat air pollution, the country's highest federal administrative court ruled Tuesday.
The Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig has allowed the cities of Stuttgart and Duesseldorf to legally ban the most polluting diesel cars from zones worst affected by pollution, paving the way for other cities to issue similar bans.
<p style="">
"This ruling gives long-awaited legal clarity that diesel restrictions are legally permissible and will unavoidably start a domino effect across the country," Ugo Taddei, an environmental lawyer from ClientEarth who worked on the case, told
<a href="http://money.cnn.com/2018/02/27/news/germany-diesel-cars-ban-court-ruling-cities/index.html" target="_blank">CNN Money</a>. "Putting traffic restrictions on the most polluting vehicles is the quickest and most effective way to protect people from harmful air pollution."
</p><p style="">
The ban was opposed by the country's
<a href="http://www.dw.com/en/the-death-of-diesel-what-the-german-court-verdict-could-mean/a-42758085" target="_blank">$616-billion-a-year</a> automotive industry and Chancellor Angela Merkel's government which <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/germany-air-pollution-2534823666.html">recently considered</a> offering free public <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/transportation" target="_blank">transportation</a> in some of its most polluted cities to reduce road traffic and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/emissions" target="_blank">emissions</a> from private vehicles.
</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="f69f9" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="0U6AWF1576683845"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="963835028651298816" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Germany Considers Free Public Transport to Fight Air Pollution https://t.co/Qw91NJi50M @greenpeaceusa… https://t.co/XzwSPOVVJS</div> — EcoWatch (@EcoWatch)<a href="https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/statuses/963835028651298816">1518631152.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p><p style="">
Environmentalists cheered Tuesday's decision, as it could spell the beginning of the end of the polluting car.
</p><p style="">
"This ruling is a victory for clean air, and shows what's possible when public health is the priority," Niklas Schinerl, clean air campaigner at
<a href="https://www.greenpeace.de/" target="_blank">Greenpeace Germany</a> said. "Across Europe, decisions like these are making it clear that diesel cars are on the way out."
</p><p style="">
"It makes no sense to invest in a new diesel now, because it's only a matter of time before even the newest diesels are either banned or priced out of cities," Schinerl added. "Instead, dirty diesel cars will be replaced by cleaner, greener <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/electric-vehicles">electric cars</a>, improved cycling infrastructure and sustainable transport that's good for health and the environment."
</p><p style="">
In recent years, <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/end-in-sight-internal-combustion-engine-1915776509.html">countries around the world</a>—including China, India, France, Britain and Norway—have announced intentions to phase out gasoline and diesel cars.
</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="33180" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="B9AU061576683845"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="752797265891393536" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Is the End in Sight for the Internal Combustion Engine? - EcoWatch https://t.co/HDm5a2UuTD @wwwfoecouk @foeeurope</div> — EcoWatch (@EcoWatch)<a href="https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/statuses/752797265891393536">1468315829.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p><p style="">
<span></span>Diesel-engine cars have been falling out of favor ever since the 2015 Volkswagen "<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/the-volkswagen-scandal-we-have-been-here-before-1882102255.html">dieselgate</a>" scandal, in which the automaker manipulated the systems on 11 million TDI diesel automobiles to cheat emissions tests. VW was forced to pay billions in fines and has since announced plans to <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/volkswagen-electric-2484839450.html" target="_blank">electrify much of its fleet</a>. Other carmakers, including fellow German brand Daimler, have since faced their own emissions scandals.
</p><p style="">
<a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-germany-emissions/diesel-cars-can-be-banned-from-german-cities-court-rules-idUSKCN1GA2XD" target="_blank">Reuters</a> reported that shares of Volkswagen, Daimler and BMW dropped after the court ruling, trading down 1.4 percent, 0.3 percent and 0.6 percent, respectively.
</p><p style="">
There are roughly 15 million diesel cars on Germany's roads, and the new diesel bans could majorly impact resale prices.
</p><p>
"While it is unclear whether and how the cities in Germany will proceed with their bans, the simple fact that they have won the legal right for doing this is likely to shift consumers' buying behavior towards petrol, hybrid and electric vehicles," said Frederik Dahlmann, an associate professor of Strategy and Sustainability at Warwick Business School.
</p><p style="">
"At the same time, those reliant on older diesel-powered vehicles will feel discriminated against, particularly when they cannot afford to change cars," Dahlmann noted. "Ultimately, only integrated transport and energy policies that consider all sources and uses of fuels and mobility needs will be effective in reducing air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions."
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Copenhagen Mayor Wants to Phase Out Diesel Cars: 'It's Not a Human Right to Pollute the Air for Others'
10 October 2017
Energy
Ssuaphoto
Copenhagen's mayor proposed a ban on new diesel cars entering the city's environmental zone, a low-emission area that basically covers the whole of the capital, as early as 2019.
"It's not a human right to pollute the air for others," Lord Mayor of Copenhagen Frank Jensen told Danish newspaper Politiken (via The Local DK's translation). "That's why diesel cars must be phased out."
<p>
The mayor noted that the potential ban is "controversial" but felt it was necessary to improve the city's air quality.
</p><p>
About 80 people, primarily older or frail, die prematurely in the Danish capital each year due to local air pollution, including nitrous oxides from traffic, according to the newspaper.
</p><p style="">
“I know it will mean something for the many, many Copenhageners that are affected by respiratory illnesses," Jensen explained.
</p><p>
The mayor's plan applies to all diesel cars registered after Jan. 1 2019. Those who already own diesel cars would still be permitted to drive in the city.
</p><p>
Jensen's remarks comes as an increasing number of countries announced proposals to ban the
<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/end-in-sight-internal-combustion-engine-1915776509.html">traditional internal combustion engine</a>, including China, the UK, Norway, Germany, India and France.
</p><p>
Car ownership is declining in the famously bike-friendly city. Last November,
<a href="http://road.cc/content/news/210765-bikes-outnumber-cars-copenhagen-traffic-first-time">b</a><a href="http://road.cc/content/news/210765-bikes-outnumber-cars-copenhagen-traffic-first-time">icycles actually outnumbered cars</a> for the first time, when 265,700 bicycles entered the city center in a 24-hour period compared to 252,600 cars.
</p><p style="">
Copenhagen is successfully moving along its ambitious goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2025, <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-danish-architects-are-creating-worlds-first-carbon-neutral-city/" target="_blank">CBS</a> This Morning reported on Monday. That means the capital wants to produce as much clean energy as it consumes.
</p><p>
Last December, the mayor announced plans to shed <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/coal">coal</a>, oil and gas from the city's 6.9bn kroner ($1.1 billion) investment fund.
</p>
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Gabriel Rodríguez/Flickr
Scotland announced plans to end the sale of new gas and diesel-powered cars by 2032 and fast-track the development of a country-wide charging network for electric vehicles.
"Our aim is for new petrol and diesel cars and vans to be phased out in Scotland by 2032—the end of the period covered by our new climate change plan and eight years ahead of the target set by the UK government," First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said on Tuesday.
<p style="">
"We live in a time of unprecedented global challenge and change," Sturgeon continued. "We face rapid advances in technology; a moral obligation to tackle climate change … These challenges are considerable, but in each of them we will find opportunity. It is our job to seize it."
</p><p>
Sturgeon also announced that Scottish government intends to finance a carbon capture and storage project in the North Sea.
</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="165d6" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="TUJIFP1553274956"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="905071882533310465" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Bold ambitions. Equipping Scotland for the next decade and beyond. FM @NicolaSturgeon https://t.co/UtDDwTuIRp… https://t.co/ULKJSvuDPe</div> — Scottish Government (@Scottish Government)<a href="https://twitter.com/scotgov/statuses/905071882533310465">1504620926.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p><p style="">
Scotland has emerged as a clean energy <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/wind-scotland-1968273448.html" target="_blank">all-star</a>, with its wind turbines occasionally generating more electricity than is actually needed. This past March 17 and 19, wind turbines provided an output equivalent of 102 percent and 130 percent of each day's demand, respectively.
</p><p>
Many other countries are planning to <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/france-ban-cars-gasoline-diesel-2454322912.html">outlaw gas guzzlers</a>. Norway is banning the sale of new gasoline- and diesel-powered cars in 2025. Germany plans to ban the internal combustion engine by 2030. India intends to be a "100 percent electric vehicle nation" by 2030. France has also set a date of 2040.
</p>
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