§ Dr. Roger Thomasasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if, in view of the European Economic Community Commission document of May 1984, he will facilitate the availability of lead-free petrol urgently.
§ Mr. WaldegraveAt last week's meeting of the Council of EC Environment Ministers, the European Commission's document of May 1984 was discussed and all EC Member States agreed to introduce unleaded petrol no later than 1989. This represents very good progress since we launched our United Kingdom petrol-lead initiative in Europe just over a year ago.
We now need to follow up on subsidiary matters. Precise timing arrangements, the number and quality of the grades of petrol to be provided (both unleaded and leaded, while the latter is being phased out), and other details need to be settled.
On timing, the European Commission has proposed that by October 1989 all new car models, and by 1991 all new cars, should be designed to run on unleaded petrol. As I told the Council, this second date is too late, and I shall continue to press for it to be brought forward at least to 1989. To meet this target, we need decisions particularly on octane quality—to enable the oil and motor industries to get started. Once we have them, the Government would welcome early action by the oil companies to make unleaded petrol available in the UK for those drivers who are keen to use it and whose cars can run on it.
The octane quality of unleaded petrol has been considered in some detail by a Commission working group known as ERGA II. Although this group finished its work in February, we have only just seen the final version of the summary report; I have placed copies in the Library of the House. The group included representatives of the European oil and motor companies and consumer groups as well as national representatives and suggested in essence that in terms of overall energy efficiency the optimum octane level for a single grade of unleaded petrol would be around 94–95 RON. This solution is favoured by certain Community countries and our own oil industry. The European Commission, supported by the FRG and others, envisage two grades—at 96 and 92 RON. The UK car industry, for the most part, would prefer two grades but this would require expensive new petrol distribution systems. The Government have still to reach a final view on this issue, and we shall be discussing it further with interested parties.
During the transition period, when both leaded and unleaded petrol will be available, we shall need to make sure that drivers use the right sort of petrol for their cars. Clearly we do not want leaded petrol to be used in vehicles designed for unleaded petrol. On the other hand, cars which need lead petrol may be damaged if they are filled with unleaded fuel. We need to choose the best way of deterring misfuelling from the various options that are open to us — and preferably standardise on this throughout the Community. Again, we need to consult in detail with industry and the appropriate consumer groups.
266WWe will press on with the further work that is now required, so that we can play a leading role in the further discussions that will be taking place in the Community over the next few months. I will continue to keep the House informed of developments, and I hope that final decisions will be taken at the Council meeting in December.