DIESEL DOES IT: "... It is vital for the continuous improvement of the internal combustion engine to achieve progress in energy efficiency and lower emissions. One size does not fit all, but everyone should have a size that fits his or her needs."(EYE ON ECOLOGY)

• Author: Gifford, Kristen

THE DIESEL INDUSTRY has been taking action to preserve the climate and meet economic and societal goals for three decades. Real and measurable progress toward virtually eliminating traditional pollutants, while at the same time making products more powerful and efficient that use less fuel, is the accomplishment of today's generation of advanced diesel technology. As the prime mover for 15 sectors of the global economy, diesel technologies will be part of any realistic climate change and clean air solution.

Radical change in fuel or technology types across wide sectors of the global economy neither are practical nor technologically feasible over short time frames. Developed and developing countries have different economic and infrastructure considerations and localized needs that value different transportation and energy solutions.

Meeting the climate challenge--reducing greenhouse gas emissions and limiting temperature rise to below 2[degrees]C while also improving air quality--will require leveraging all possible innovations, inventions, and technologies, both new and existing, near term and longer term, and proven and experimental. It also is vital to recognize that meaningful progress toward achieving goals in the longer term does not imply sacrifice of progress in the near term. Calls for switches to emerging technologies--with high expectations but at a nascent scale and an uncertain longer timeline--must be balanced against existing and proven technologies at dominant scale, where incremental change delivers large dividends.

Global climate strategies must value and embrace energy efficiency in all its forms.

Energy efficiency should be valued no matter how it is achieved, not its shape or size, "radical" or not. While substantial discussion centers around a shift to non fossil fuel-based options for transportation, the commercial availability and scalability of these technologies does not exist today nor in the foreseeable future for most commercial applications beyond small passenger vehicles. Therefore, while the prospect of zero-emissions full-scale electrification exists for some sectors, the reality is that it does not exist in the near term.

Yet, the need for continued and sustained progress in energy efficiency for the global economy is essential. Public policies that arbitrarily seek to ban or restrict diesel technologies--rather than taking advantage of their inherent efficiency, durability, and low emissions--create the...