Dick Roche: Volkswagen not only emissions ‘delinquent’

A former government minister claims Volkswagen is not alone in being “economical with the truth” in relation to fuel emissions.

Dick Roche, a former minister for the environment, has insisted the German car manufacturer has not been “the lone delinquent in the broader emissions debate” after it emerged that Volkswagen was “fiddling the figures”.

Mr Roche, who served in the cabinet under former taoiseach Bertie Ahern, said other organisations have also been guilty of distorting facts to influence policy “in the complex space where environmental, energy, and taxation intersect”. He claimed one environmental lobby group which has been one of the most vocal critics of Volkswagen had also made questionable negative claims about biofuels.

“In the recent debate on biofuels some key NGOs adopted an approach to facts that demonstrates that manipulations of the truth is not the sole domain of powerful multinationals,” said Mr Roche.

Writing in the Brussels-based publication EurActiv, Mr Roche, who currently acts as adviser to Pannonia, a Hungarian ethanol company, complained that ethanol is the most highly taxed fuel in the EU.

He said the public policy which saw ethanol, a cleaner fuel than diesel, being subject to higher taxes was “by any standard” perverse.

Mr Roche argued that EU policy makers had contributed to a situation in Europe which favoured the use of diesel as a fuel, despite the fact that the World Health Organisation had reclassified diesel exhaust fumes as carcinogens.

He pointed out taxation policies in Europe encouraged motorists to buy diesel cars, while registration fees for diesel models are lower than for petrol vehicles.

“The fuel tax system effectively subsidises diesel, making it the most lightly taxed road transport fuel in Europe,” said Mr Roche.