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Honda Australia commends
the Australian Government's Environment Protection and Heritage Council (EPHC)
for releasing an impact statement to address emissions from non-road spark
ignition engines and equipment.
The EPHC has invited
stakeholders, including Honda, for comments on the analysis, and will be
working closely with the relevant industry representatives to ensure the most
effective regulations are introduced.
The Consultation
Regulatory Impact Statement released by DEHWA indicates introduction of latest
US regulations in Australia from 2012.
Honda Australia's
General Manager, Power Equipment and Marine, Vikram Pawah thanked the EPHC for
taking the first step to reduce the level of emissions from engines used in the
gardening sector and marine sector in Australia.
"The Council has done
some really wonderful and thorough work in analysing the impact high polluting
products have on the users and the public in terms of their health," Mr Pawah
said.
"In particular, their
work into the cost benefit analysis of compliant versus non-compliant products
has shown that the savings on a single marine outboard engine, for instance,
can be as much as $9000 in relation to associated healthcare costs.
"Similarly in the
gardening sector the health related costs to society can be double in case of
non-compliant engines."
Mr Pawah said that much
of the equipment on the market was made up of two-stroke engine products, while
the remainder was powered by a mixture of four-stroke engines and other hybrid
engines.
With current small
engine technology, two-stroke motors rely on gas and air to carry a thin oil
film to critical components to keep the engine lubricated and operational. As a
result the emissions from two-stroke engines often carry more levels of
Hydrocarbons (HC), Nitrous Oxides (NOx) and Carbon Monoxides (CO).
"Standards in emissions
of HC and NOx gases per kilowatt hour in small engines have existed in North
America and Europe for some time, so it is heartening to see Australia starting
to follow suit," Mr Pawah said.
"The good news is that
the customer will still have plenty of choice in regard to high-quality product
whilst also being confident that they are doing the right thing by both their
health and the environment."
Honda offers a complete
range of four-stroke power equipment including lawnmowers, brushcutters,
tillers and the world's first four-stroke hedgecutter and leaf blower. Honda is
also one of the few companies to offer only four-stroke marine outboards in its
product range.
Further information: Honda Australia, Customer Relations – (03) 9270
1348 or visit: www.honda.com.au
Incorporating unique attributes such as BLAST, ECOmo and
VTEC, along with a five-year warranty, Honda's technologically-advanced
four-stroke outboard engines run quieter, offer greater fuel economy,
burn
cleaner and are just plain better for the environment... at the same
time
delivering superior power and unmatched reliability. Honda –
four-strokes of
genius.
(28 May 2010)
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