THE moments after you start you car鈥檚 engine are when it releases its worst
exhaust fumes. I showed transport minister Lord Whitty the recent article about
the gadget that scientists at the University of Texas devised
(3 February, p 15).
It enables engines to be started as if they were already warm and ready to
go, and has a huge potential for reducing hydrocarbon pollution from the moment
of ignition.
An enthusiastic Whitty replied that such a gadget could greatly help Britain
achieve its environmental objectives. Britain is on target to meet its
air-quality objectives for hydrocarbon emissions, and as more new vehicles come
onto the road, emissions standards become progressively tighter.
The latest standard, which came into effect on 1 January, requires new cars
to meet a cold-start emissions standard for hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide at
-7掳C. The government is now considering whether to apply this requirement to
all larger petrol-engined vehicles. If it does so, it will be up to
manufacturers to decide which technology to use to meet the tougher standards.
The American device could well provide a more cost-effective means of achieving
these standards. 鈥淚 look forward to its development with interest,鈥� said
Whitty.
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The minister went on to say that the gadget might have less potential for
existing vehicles, mainly because modifications to fuel systems of vehicles need
to be undertaken with great caution and with expertise. This would not be a
problem with new vehicles, he said. Given the role of cars in today鈥檚 pollution
problems, manufacturers should be following up this device closely.
SO much was almost achieved at the climate change conference in The Hague at
the end of November 2000, but it ended in frustration鈥攁nd, sad to say,
frustration continues. One of the encouraging signs was Russia鈥檚 promise to
develop clean energy projects with the income obtained by selling some of its
rights to produce greenhouse emissions
(2 December 2000, p 5). This, Russian
representatives asserted, would be at the very heart of the modernisation of the
country鈥檚 energy infrastructure. I asked Foreign Secretary Robin Cook recently
how the Russian promise was progressing.
Cook replied that, so far, the backing of the Russian government and the
Russian private sector for the idea remains unclear. The Foreign and
Commonwealth Office (FCO) has been actively exploring the claim through its
contacts in Russia. Prime Minister Tony Blair raised the matter with Russian
President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov during his recent
visit to Moscow. The outcome of much of these discussions remains confidential,
but at least the matters were raised at the top level.
Cook said that he and the FCO would continue to take all opportunities open
to them to encourage the Russians to develop an effective scheme. But in the end
it would be for the Russian government to decide, he added.
The Russian equipment now causing the pollution problem would have been
state-of-the-art in the heyday of the Soviet Union. But in the intervening years
it has not been maintained or replaced, leaving a problem of diabolically
dangerous neglect that could affect us all. Come clean, Russia, and tell us what
you intend to do.
