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How much pollution do diesel engines really create?

I appreciate that diesel has many advantages but I have always been concerned that even with the best systems, NO2, PM5s and more especially PM2.5s could be a health hazard. Now, according to ‘Autocar’, a campaign group named ‘Clean Air in London’ is claiming that diesels are responsible for up to 30 times more air pollution than petrol engined vehicles.

Asked on 14 September 2013 by JK, via email

Answered by Honest John
Hmm. So we have a choice: Run the risk of breathing in carcinogens, or simply die of starvation because we can't get the food to the people. Politicians will always obfuscate this sort of stuff to suit whatever agenda they can make money out of. Same thing with CO2 emissions. The politicians ramp them down in their tests and the makers of emissions equipment rake in a fortune. But, engines have to be optimised to pass the EC tests, which actually makes them less efficient and emit more CO2 in real life situations, as we have found at www.honestjohn.co.uk/realmpg
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