Dirty diesel won’t be cleaned up by a software patch
Responding to an announcement made at yesterday’s diesel summit in Berlin that Germany’s car makers will provide software updates for 5.3m diesel vehicles in an attempt to curb emissions of nitrogen oxide (NOx) by 25-30 per cent, Areeba Hamid, Greenpeace UK Clean Air Campaigner said:
“Car makers really are clutching at straws now. Independent research has shown that some of these diesel cars emit up to 18 times[1] more nitrogen oxide than the legal limit, so reducing it by 30% is nowhere near enough. This means that people across cities will continue to be exposed to the dangerous health impacts of air pollution for much longer.
“Dirty diesel won’t be cleaned up by a software patch. Tackling illegal air pollution requires a number of solutions, not least an expansion of clean public transport. But if car companies are serious about reducing their role in the air pollution crisis, they need to ditch diesel altogether and invest in electric cars instead.”