With the horrendous traffic Filipino motorists face every day, switching to Euro 4 could just be the best consolation they can ever get.
As more cars traverse roads for longer periods of time, it’s inevitable that emissions will increase. And it’s not a particularly impossible scenario either! Just think about the dreaded EDSA rush hour and you’ll have a clear picture of how bad traffic can get in the country.
Still, it is undeniable that more and more individuals and families rely on private cars to accomplish daily tasks and travels. Hence, several companies and institutions have shifted their focus on making sure that cars are greener. This is where Euro 4 engines and fuels come in.
What is Euro 4?
Euro 4 is a globally accepted European emission standard for vehicles that require the use of fuel with significantly low sulfur (0.005 percent, or 50 ppm) and benzene (maximum of 1 percent by volume) contents. Euro 4 fuels are, therefore, 10 times cleaner than Euro 2, with much lower levels of sulfur and benzene. Cleaner fuel means cleaner emissions and less pollution in the environment.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has pressed for the implementation of the Euro 4 emission standards starting June 2016. Euro 4 diesel and petroleum were originally scheduled for implementation in 2010.
The DENR said the country lags behind in implementing the Euro 4 standards, as North America and Europe have had the Euro 3 standards upgraded in 2005. And so starting January 1 this year, light-duty vehicles and passenger cars in the Philippines are expected to have met Euro 4 emission standards.
Why shift to Euro 4?
Upgrading to Euro 4 is said to be more than just saving mankind. Euro 4, which lessens toxic sulfur content by 450 ppm from the present Euro 2 standards, also improves fuel economy and reduces emissions of free radicals. Euro 4 fuels improve power by enhancing engine lubrication and restores maximum engine performance by reducing and cleaning internal-engine deposits. They also minimize the effects of ethanol, which corrodes engine internals.
Euro 4 fuels are expensive, as they require more refinery processing to lower the toxic sulfur content. But this will not greatly affect average prices of gasoline and diesel, as some independent petrol companies are now selling Euro 4-compliant fuels competitively. Euro 4-compliant cars also run greener and are more efficient due to the technological advances, especially in diesel engines.
PHL 2nd Euro 4 compliant in Asean region
While there was resistance for the newest global standard on fuels, the Philippines is second to Thailand in the entire Asean region in terms of compliance to the Euro 4 emission standards paved by the readiness of the local oil companies to produce the fuel products required for Euro 4 standards.
Some local automakers earlier said the DENR order was “too stringent,” and would cause them to incur additional costs, as they would be forced to immediately roll out new models with engines that are Euro-4 compliant. This can be seen in older models, such as the Pajero which is now Euro 4 compliant.
Nevertheless, the early compliance by the Philippines can be attributed to the readiness of the privately owned oil companies in the country. Because these oil firms are private, their approval processes are faster than the government-owned fuel firms. For instance, Indonesia and Malaysia’s oil firms are owned by the government. The two countries have postponed their Euro 4 compliance to 2020.
Petron first to roll out Euro 4 diesel fuel products in the Philippines
Independent oil company Unioil was the first to make Euro 4-compliant fuels available in the Philippines. Unioil launched the first Euro 4 standard diesel fuel in the Philippines in 2012. On the other hand, Petron Corp. introduced Petron Blaze 100 Euro 4 in 2014, which was especially formulated to meet the Euro 4 standard.
But in the third quarter of 2015, as the country’s largest oil refiner, Petron started the local production of Euro 4-compliant diesel products, offering a full-range of premium fuels to the market, in line with global standards ahead of the 2016 government mandatory deadline.
Last October Petron announced that its diesel products, Turbo Diesel and DieselMax, met global Euro 4 fuel standards. This makes the oil firm the first and only company in the country to locally produce a full range of premium fuels that meet the cleaner and more efficient Euro 4 global benchmark.
In June 2015 Petron launched its Euro 4 gasoline products—Blaze 100 Euro 4 (RON 100), XCS (RON 95), Xtra Advance (RON 93) and Super Xtra (RON 91).
“We are proud that all of Petron’s Euro 4 fuels are made in the Philippines, and are especially formulated to meet the unique needs of our customers. We can guarantee the quality and properties of our fuels, since we produce them here, formulate them here and test them here,” Petron President and CEO Ramon S. Ang said.
Petron fuels are locally produced at its refinery in Bataan and formulated for Philippine driving conditions.
Petron invested $2 billion to further upgrade its Bataan refinery and make it on a par with the most advanced refineries in the region. Dubbed the Refinery Master Plan-2, Petron can now produce more higher-value products, such as gasoline and petrochemicals, while eliminating negative margin fuel oil.
In the third week of January 2016, PTT Philippines disclosed that as of November 2015, PTT gasoline (Performa 97, Superb 95 and Eco 93) and diesel (Dynamic) products were rolled out at all its retail stations. PTT Philippines currently has more than 90 retail stations in Metro Manila, Luzon and Cebu.
“PTT Philippines’s compliance came way ahead of the January 1, 2016, deadline set by the Department of Energy [DOE] for oil companies to upgrade to cleaner emission standards of fuel from Euro 2 to Euro 4,” PTT said in a statement.
PTT Philippines President and CEO Sukanya Seriyothin said that since PTT has no refinery in the Philippines, they have been importing the Euro 4 fuels from its parent firm in Thailand, which has been producing and offering Euro 4 emission-standard fuels for years already.
While producing and importing Euro 4 fuel is more expensive, PTT assured its customers that it won’t affect the price in the retail stations.
DOE to monitor oil companies’ compliance with directive to sell Euro 4-grade fuel
On January 19 the DOE said it would closely monitor all oil companies’ compliance with a department order requiring them to sell cleaner fuel. As a result, several providers of trucks and buses are expected to make the shift. To date, Hino has shifted to Euro 4, while other providers are set to follow suit.
“Market inspection has to be looked into closely along with strengthened information, education and communication [IEC] campaigns, especially that the government is already implementing Euro 4 standards on all petroleum products sold in the market, as well as the nearing implementation of higher biofuel blends,” Energy Secretary Zenaida Monsada said.
The DOE circular states that “starting January 1, 2016, only gasoline and diesel fuels complying with the standard specifications for Euro 4 shall be allowed for sale at the bulk and retail levels in the country.”
The agency, according to the circular, will conduct “random quality sampling and testing of gasoline and diesel obtained from the facilities of the oil companies to ensure compliance.”
The oil firms should ensure that the personnel at their retail stations are sufficiently acquainted with the Euro 4 standard in order to inform customers of new product specifications.
“Any person who fails to comply with the provisions of this department circular shall be subject to appropriate sanctions imposed under applicable laws and implementing rules and regulations,” the circular stated.
Euro 4-compliant vehicles in, 15-year-old vehicles out
In accordance with the DENR Administrative Order (DAO) 2015-04, all new vehicles entering the country will have to be Euro 4 compliant. For secondhand vehicles, which are not covered by the order, Environment Secretary Ramon J.P. Paje said he will coordinate with concerned government agencies to make sure that all secondhand vehicles entering the country are equipped with Euro 4-compliant engines.
In 2010 the government mandated that all new passenger and light-duty motor vehicles to be introduced in the market should comply with Euro 4 emission limits, subject to Euro 4 fuel availability, beginning January 1, 2016.
Clean-fuel advocates wanted the new vehicle-emission standards implemented earlier than 2016, saying that it would take about 15 years to completely replace all the vehicles currently in use with cleaner ones.
Around 70 percent to 80 percent of the air pollution in Metro Manila came from vehicle emissions, while the rest came from stationary sources, such as industrial emissions, and area sources, like open burning, the DENR said.
As a measure of air pollution, the average recorded level of total suspended particulates (TSP) in Metro Manila in 2014 was at 118 micrograms per cubic meter, which was higher than the acceptable or national annual guideline value of 90 micrograms per cubic meter.
“Clearly, the key to improving Metro Manila’s air quality is by addressing the biggest source of pollution, which is motor vehicles,” Paje said.
Paje also urged the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) to phase out 15-year-old vehicles, saying older vehicles have been known to consume more fuel and produce more emissions.
As a compromise to such a phase-out, Paje suggested that older vehicles be barred from major thoroughfares already prone to heavy traffic.
“Heavier traffic means more idling time for vehicles on the road. This leads to more emissions, and older vehicles have more toxic emissions,” he said.
In line with this, the government will also require car manufacturers to produce Euro 4-compliant vehicles beginning this year.
“Kasi kahit maganda ’yung fuel mo, kung hindi naman maganda ’yung maintenance ng sasakyan mo, hindi rin magi-improve ’yung emission niya [Even if you have good fuel, your car’s emissions won’t improve if it doesn’t have good maintenance],” explained Melita Obillo, director of the DOE Oil Industry Management Bureau.
As early as September, some car companies are already selling Euro 4-compliant units, which produce lower emission.
Honda Cars Philippines Inc. (HCPI) has announced that its entire vehicle model line-up is now Euro-4 certified, signifying its compliance to the cleaner emission standards being mandated by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
Initially having obtained the certification for its locally manufactured City; HCPI has also secured Euro 4 certification for the following vehicle models: Brio, Brio Amaze, Mobilio, CR-V, Civic, Jazz, HR-V, Accord, Odyssey and CR-Z. As early as June 2015, HCPI has actively sought and obtained Euro 4 emission standard certification from the DENR for its entire vehicle lineup.
As early as 2004, HCPI said it has started introducing Euro 4-ready products in the Philippine market. HCPI President and General Manager Toshio Kuwahara said it has always been one of HCPI’s thrusts to leave blue skies for children, which is why Honda produces products that are safer for the environment and for its users.
“We would like to assure our customers that Honda takes proactive actions to help contribute in reducing the destruction of our ozone layer and the effect of global warming,” Kuwahara said.
By the end of 2006, the company said all Honda vehicles sold in the Philippines were already at Euro 4 emission level. “That is Honda’s driving force when doing business, always bringing the latest innovation and dreaming blue skies for our children,” Kuwahara added.
Meanwhile, Vice President of Isuzu Philippines Corp. (IPC) Joseph Bautista earlier disclosed that Philippine automotive companies are ready to comply with the January 2016 Euro 4 emission standards for brand-new vehicles and 2018 for the old vehicles.
He said the Philippines will be hosting the annual meeting of the Asean Automotive Federation in March 2016. The event, to be attended by at least 50 automotive manufacturers in the region, will be held in Panglao, Bohol.
This year’s meeting, according to Bautista, will tackle the harmonization of standards and regulation of the automotive sector in the region. Thus, most of the attendees are technical executives of automotive firms from the 10 Asean countries.
By harmonization of standards, this means that if a car model or a particular automotive standard or a product has been approved in any Asean country, this will be honored in all the other Asean countries.
“For instance, if the product has been accepted in Thailand, there will be no more double testing in another Asean country for that particular product or standard,” he said.
He added that harmonization will be mostly on emission and safety standards.
Only very few automotive standards have been harmonized in the region. Basically, these are the more basic parts, like glass and tires.
With the full implementation of the Asean Economic Community in January this year, Bautista said there is a need to harmonize product standards and regulations.
Filipinos may still have to brace themselves for the heavy traffic hopefully until such time that new leaders shall be installed after the May 2016 national elections—and they come up with immediate and most possible solution to abate it. However, with the lingering effects of air pollution, both acute and chronic, on human health, ranging from minor upper-respiratory irritation to chronic respiratory and heart disease, lung cancer, acute respiratory infections in children and chronic bronchitis in adults, aggravating preexisting heart and lung disease, or asthma attacks, we cannot afford to wait any longer.
Euro 4 may not be the total solution for the environmental challenge mankind is facing now—but at least the start. Euro 4 compliance, in a sense, is giving teeth to the environmental measure crafted in 1999. Republic Act 8749, otherwise known as the Philippine Clean Air Act, is a comprehensive air-quality management policy and program which aims to achieve and maintain healthy air for all Filipinos.
Welcome to the Philippines, Euro 4!