“The burning of natural gas in vehicles also emits pollutants into the atmosphere, just like petrol, and represents limited advantages in relation to diesel cars that comply with pollution rules but could be eliminated through our regulation,” the study, carried out by the European Federation for Transport and Environment (T&E) said.

According to Portuguese environmental association ZERO, which belongs to T&E, “natural gas is a utopia that distracts from the aim of reducing transport emissions and meeting the decarbonisation target in 2050.”

The study, which Lusa had access to, also added that regulators should recognise that natural gas is a fossil fuel that cannot be used with the aim to reduce carbon emissions from road transport and should be taxed just like petrol and diesel.

“If we take into account the risks of leakage of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas with a greater climate impact than CO2 (carbon dioxide), natural gas emissions could increase greenhouse gas emissions by up to 9%, if we consider all forms of transport,” the study added.