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The EU’s exemption on e-fuels from 2035 isn’t as big a story as it first seems, reckons Paul
ILLUSTRATION: PAUL RYDING
What are we to make of the EU’s exemption from its 2035 ban on new petrol cars, to allow those that run “only on e-fuels”? See, a litre of e-fuel is – even at the molecular level – identical to a litre of the petrol that began down an oil well. That’s its entire point. So if a car can run on e-fuel, it can also run on the old stuff.
How will they police this? Each litre could have its own blockchain to ensure traceability. But the computing energy behind blockchain is itself carbon intensive. Or maybe they could use the same method as farmers’ diesel. Diesel dyed red, on which there’s low tax, is for tractors. Road diesel has more tax. If a farmer’s Land Rover has a red stained fuel filter, he’s up before the beak, big time.