Recently, Germany and Israel have taken moves to ban diesel vehicles from the roads. Does this mean that diesel vehicles’ days are numbered?
Not quite.
First, the countries are looking to limit diesel vehicles for very different reasons. In Israel, the government has announced an ambitious new goal to address climate change. The country has announced it wants to ban all diesel and gas vehicles by around 2030. The country wants most drivers to switch to electric cars, while trucks would switch to cleaner natural gas.
In Germany, a Berlin court has ordered city authorities to institute a diesel driving ban in areas that fail to meet nitrogen dioxide limits. Similar measures have been introduced in other European cities that have failed these pollutant limits. City officials have until March 2019 to submit a revised clean air plan, at which point diesel vehicles would be restricted in certain high-traffic areas of Berlin.
Because most U.S. drivers rely on conventional gasoline rather than diesel fuel, they may mistakenly assume that banning diesel would have little impact on their day-to-day life. Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. Because while the average driver may not use diesel, many trucks and freight ships do. The U.S. logistics and transportation industry accounts for about 8% of the gross domestic product, and any disruption to the transportation industry would have major repercussions for the economy at large.
Today, there are 50 different types of diesel engines available to consumers, a number that could increase to 60 in the coming years. Most freight ships rely on “bunker fuel,” which is a sulfur-filled type of fuel. But while shipping containers rely on fuel that’s worse for the environment, the reverse is true for the trucks that rely on diesel.
In fact, most large trucks that rely on diesel engines are 25% to 30% more efficient than the typical gas-powered vehicle. As a result, diesel isn’t likely to be banned in the United States any time soon, even as more transportation companies switch to natural gas and electric motors.
Of course, even Israel may struggle to get rid of diesel vehicles. The country has millions of gas-powered cars on the road. The total number of electric vehicles on the road? A mere 700, according to Haaretz.
Still, the country is committed to an electric future, per Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz.
“We are forcing companies to bring electric cars to Israel and for oil and gasoline companies to shift to charging stations in their gasoline or petrol stations.”
