Zero emissions Diesel prices to skyrocket

AS reported on Thursday, January 26, by a news outlet, the heads of various oil companies have warned that the price of diesel will skyrocket at the pumps on forecourts in Spain after February 5. Specifically, that is the date on which the EU embargo on buying Russian crude oil comes into force.

CARS: Moving towards a cleaner transport network.

THE UK government is powering forward towards decarbonising its central car fleet. On January 19 it confirmed that it hit its target in switching over a quarter of all its cars (25.5 per cent) to ultra­low emission vehicles (ULEV).

Having a higher rate of ULEV vehicles in its fleet means the government is on track to meet its 2027 target for the entire fleet to be fully zero emission.

As set out in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ Greening government commitments in 2021 to 2025, the government was required to transition a minimum of a quarter of its car fleet to ultra­low emission vehicles by the end of 2022.

Technology and Decarbonisation Minister Jesse Norman said: “As the UK moves towards a cleaner transport network, the government is doing its part, with over 25 per cent of its central car fleet being battery ­ powered three months earlier than planned.

“It’s critical that progress in decarbonising fleets is matched elsewhere. We will continue to forge ahead, to complete the switch by 2027 and help make the UK a world leader in decarbonisation.”

The sanctions are designed to starve Moscow from funding its invasion of Ukraine. However, according to sources in the petrol station sector consulted by the news outlet, Europe is still heavily dependent on Russia for its diesel supply.

Compared to when the government’s fuel discount was in place, the cost of petrol has already risen 18 per cent in the first weeks of 2023, and diesel by 15 per cent.

Data from Refinitiv, the global provider of data and infrastructure of the financial market showed that in November

2022, 44 per cent of the imports of this fuel came from Russia.

The reason given for this dependence is the decoupling that exists between supply and demand in Europe. Every day, the continent lacks 1.3 million