The Philippines will move from Euro 2 to Euro 4 fuel standards in July instead of next year as previously planned.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources last week issued a directive requiring the supply of Euro 4-quality diesel and gasoline road fuels by July 1. The Department of Energy is responsible for ensuring that Euro 4 fuels are available throughout the country in time.
The directive also requires all new vehicles entering the marketplace to comply with the separate Euro 4 engine emissions standard beginning Jan. 1, 2016.
The Euro 4 fuel standard was developed by the European Union and is an earlier version of the Euro 6 standard now in effect in that region. Euro 4 limits sulfur content in gasoline and diesel to 50 parts per million, while Euro 2 allows up to 500 ppm. Euro 2, which was introduced in Europe in 1996, has no limit for aromatics, while Euro 4 restricts their volume to 35 percent. The Philippines implemented Euro 2 fuel standards in 2009.
The Euro 4 emissions standard will tighten caps for carbon monoxide, hydrocarbon, nitrous oxides and particulate matter from new light- and heavy-duty vehicles.
DENR Secretary Ramon Paje said that the directive is part of the governments efforts to improve the archipelago nations air quality, particularly in the Metro Manila region, in line with its 1999 Clean Air Act.
The planned shift to Euro 4 was made possible through the support of oil players, car manufacturers and transport groups, who are doing their fair share to curb air pollution and reduce its impacts, Paje said in a press release last week.
According to a March 29 Manila Standard Today online report, Chevron Philippines and PTT Philippines said they are ready to comply with Euro 4 fuel standard, but that they have requested the government to revert to the original January implementation schedule, because its what the industry has been planning for.