A draft plan to use subsidies to phase out older diesel trucks from public roads would remove one of the nation’s biggest mobile air pollution sources, the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) said on Tuesday.
Once finalized, the plan would award private diesel truck owners up to NT$400,000 if they agree to have their old trucks scrapped, the agency said.
The program is to target category 1 diesel trucks, manufactured before June 30, 1993, and category 2 diesel trucks, which were produced between July 1, 1993 and June 30, 1999, it said.
Owners who apply to hand in their category 1 trucks before Dec. 10 next year would be entitled to a subsidy of between NT$50,000 and NT$300,000, while category 2 vehicle owners would get NT$100,000 to NT$400,000, officials said, adding that subsidies would be lower after the deadline
EPA data shows that hazardous PM2.5 fine particulate matter emitted by older diesel trucks accounts for 11.2 to 16.8 percent of total airborne PM2.5 nationwide.
The program would result in a reduction of 67kg of PM2.5 emission per year for every vehicle taken out of service, the agency said.
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