Tweet

For decades, public discourse, primarily in Europe, prompted people to buy diesel-powered vehicles. Public leaders have used two main arguments, over and over again : less pollution and fiscal incentives. Today, many car owners feel they have been deceived both by their authorities and by car manufacturers. The auto companies which cheated in the "Diesel-Scandal" case, have destroyed the confidence the general public had in the anti-pollution standards for motor vehicles and fuel quality. In this context, many experts argue that the time of the diesel engine is over. And it is true that Paris, Madrid, Athens and other cities throughout the world have taken steps to ban diesel cars and trucks by 2025. Of course, the tax incentives on diesel involved significant costs for national budgets. We are now coming to the second major policy incoherence. According to the UN Environment Program 90% of the air pollution in cities, especially in Africa are caused by road traffic. It must be stressed that 27 African countries have no import regulation at all concerning the age of imported cars. For example, the average age of a car imported to Uganda is 16.5 years. Today, we can state that most of the fleet of used diesel cars out of Europe will end up in Africa. At the same time, many African countries are seeking financial assistance from the International Community to combat pollution. That is the brief demonstration of an irresponsible system. Public policy strategies to support the automotive industry led to more global air pollution. And eventually European taxpayers will pay twice the bill to combat this pollution. What a disastrous record!

Tweet