Do you know what you’re putting in your car? Other than being petrol or diesel, do you really know what that mysterious juice is that gets you from A to B? Probably not. That could soon change.
The Department for Transport has introduced a new labelling system to help motorists pick the right fuel for their car and prevent ‘mis-fuelling’ - the disaster whereby you put the wrong fuel into your vehicle. It’s not something I’ve ever done myself, but apparently, it’s a pretty common problem. Send this article to someone that you know has mis-fuelled and, hopefully, they’ll learn their lesson.
The labels will be rolled out in September of 2019 as part of an EU wide incentive - regardless of whether or not we’ll be in the EU by then. The labels will be accompanied by more specific information about the biofuel content of the fuels that you are buying. The idea is that this will help motorists become more aware of their impact on climate change.
Just last year, the reduced CO2 emissions thanks to the use of biofuels would have been equal to the emissions of a million cars.
Fuel companies now blend their biofuel products in with their petrol and diesel to reduce our impact on the environment and help us meet our climate change commitments as individuals and as a nation. Under this new incentive, for example, petrol containing up to 5% renewable ethanol will be categorised as ‘E5’, while diesel containing up to 7% biodiesel will be labelled as ‘B7’. A very categoric and simple way for motorists to get an idea of what they’re paying for.
A DfT spokesperson said:
“These new labels will help drivers chose the right fuel for their vehicle, whilst also highlighting the use of biofuels in reducing the CO2 emissions from everyday road vehicles.”
“Our Road to Zero strategy set out our ambition to end the sale of diesel and petrol cars by 2040, while the ongoing decarbonising of traditional fuels will help during this transition.”
So, in summary, not only will this change make road users more aware of what is inside the fuel they are using, but it will prevent motorists from filling their car with the wrong fuel. At the moment, when you’re abroad, you’ll see that the words ‘petrol’ and ‘diesel’ are translated to the local language, which can be tricky. This new labelling system will remove any doubt as to which fuel you should be using.
So, what do you think? Is this all necessary or are we being guilt tripped over the pollution our cars are putting out? Let us know in the comments section below.