Skip to main content

Clean diesel projects ‘best choice for use of VW settlement’

Clean diesel technology is the best choice for mitigating NOx emissions in the US as part of the Volkswagen Environmental Mitigation Trust, according to the non-profit education association Diesel Technology Forum. In a presentation at the 2017 Energy Policy Outlook Conference hosted by the National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO), Ezra Finkin, the policy director for the Forum, highlighted why clean diesel technology is the best and most cost-effective choice for the immediate mitigation
February 13, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
Clean diesel technology is the best choice for mitigating NOx emissions in the US as part of the Volkswagen Environmental Mitigation Trust, according to the non-profit education association Diesel Technology Forum.
 
In a presentation at the 2017 Energy Policy Outlook Conference hosted by the National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO), Ezra Finkin, the policy director for the Forum, highlighted why clean diesel technology is the best and most cost-effective choice for the immediate mitigation of NOx emissions. He said replacing or upgrading the oldest and largest engines with clean diesel technology is the fastest and most proven way to reduce NOx emissions and achieve the objectives of the settlement.
 
The US$14.7 billion settlement reached between VW, the Attorney General and the Department of Justice includes the Environmental Mitigation Trust, designed to repower or replace older heavy-duty vehicles and equipment with new technology to reduce NOx emissions.  Public and private fleet vehicles are eligible for funding under the program.
 
According to Finkin, new clean diesel engines are near-zero in NOx emissions and are the most cost effective solution in reducing emissions to meet the specific goals established in the Trust.  “For a fixed investment, more NOx can be reduced through investments in clean diesel technology than any other alternative, including natural gas and all-electric applications,” he said.

He stated that, while not primary objectives of the settlement, policymakers should take into consideration these additional and immediate benefits from the clean diesel options.

Related Content

  • EU having ‘intense’ discussions over ‘low-carbon mobility’ goals
    June 3, 2016
    According to Maroš Šefčovič, the Commission vice-president for the Energy Union, the European Commission is having “very intense discussions” with member states over the individual emissions reduction percentage that they will be assigned to reduce emissions in sectors not covered by the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), says Euractiv. Šefčovič devoted substantial attention to the situation in the non-ETS sector and to the issue of ‘low-carbon mobility’, or reducing emissions from transport. The non-ETS se
  • ITS America historic meeting welcomes industry leaders
    June 1, 2015
    Welcome to ITS America’s 25th Annual Meeting Anniversary in Pittsburgh! This historic silver anniversary brings together more than 2,000 of the nation’s top transportation and technology policymakers, business leaders, engineers, investors and researchers. The event’s theme – Bridges to Innovation – is appropriate in that the issues to be discussed and debated and the technologies on display are representative of how important ITS is to America’s – and the world’s – transportation future.
  • Monitoring and transparency preserve enforcement's reputation
    July 30, 2012
    What can be done to preserve automated enforcement's reputation in the face of media and public criticism? Here, system manufacturers and suppliers talk about what they think are the most appropriate business models. Recent events in Italy only served to once again to push automated enforcement into the media spotlight. At the heart of the matter were the numerous alleged instances of local authorities and their contract suppliers of enforcement services colluding to illegally shorten amber signal phase tim
  • ITS instrumental in reducing Texan congestion
    September 4, 2018
    ITS projects in the Houston area have seen costs crunched – and even a system failure has proved valuable in analysing performance. David Crawford reports on developments in the Lone Star state Savings by Texan public agencies are major factors in the recent ITS Texas awards, recognising beneficial initiatives in bridge strike prevention and traffic intersection control. In the first, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT)’s Houston District, covering the state’s most populous city and its surround