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The Air Pollution Control (Motor Vehicle Fuel) (Amendment) Regulation 2010 is gazetted today (May 7). The amendment regulation is to tighten the specifications of motor vehicle diesel and unleaded petrol to Euro V standards, a spokesman for the Environmental Protection Department said.
The major difference between Euro IV and Euro V motor vehicle fuels (i.e. for both diesel and petrol) is the tightening of the cap on their sulphur content from 0.005% to 0.001%.
"Euro V motor vehicle fuels help reduce motor vehicles' emission of sulphur dioxide by about 80%. It also helps improve the removal efficiency of the emission control systems installed in motor vehicles and facilitates the introduction of more advanced emission control systems in future to further reduce motor vehicle emissions.
"In addition, if existing petrol vehicles use Euro V petrol, their emissions of carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons will be reduced by about 10%. Compared with Euro IV diesel, Euro V diesel will also help reduce the respirable suspended particulates of existing diesel vehicles by 5%," the spokesman added.
"Local oil companies have already confirmed that they have no problem supplying Euro V motor vehicle fuels. Since December 2007, all local petrol filling stations have been offering exclusively Euro V diesel for diesel vehicles. As for petrol, the import volume of Euro V petrol increased to about half of total petrol imports in 2009 from 10% in 2008, indicating that Euro V petrol has gradually become more widely available," he said.
The Amendment Regulation will be tabled at the Legislative Council for negative vetting on May 12. Subject to the approval of the Council, the amendments will take effect on July 1, 2010.
Ends/Friday, May 7, 2010
Issued at HKT 12:33
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