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... whereas less CO2 emissions caused by Diesel engines is a misconception, too.

Diesel comes with a higher energy density which means there are more CO2 emissions per burned liter of Diesel in comparison to gas.

Burning a liter of Diesel emits 2.6kg of CO2, gas 'only' emits 2.3kg of CO2 [1].

Plus, a Diesel engine is heavier compared to a gas engine with comparable specs.

[1] https://www1.wdr.de/wissen/technik/kohlenstoffdioxid-sprit-1...

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This comparison is wrong. You want CO2 per distance, not CO2 per liter. From these numbers if it could go either way. If the diesel engine gets 10% more distance/liter then it's worse than an Otto engine, but if it gets 20% more distance/liter then it's cleaner than an Otto engine. CO2/liter tells us very little.

However, what is certain is that the CO2 savings from diesel is small and certainly less than 50%. That's not going to get us where we need to go in terms of carbon emissions.

I wouldn't say it's per se wrong. The tax is based on a per liter basis and not on a per distance/liter basis. If you'd want to tax CO2 emissions, Diesel would need a higher tax rate than gas since it'll emit more CO2 per burned liter.

While it's been a while since I lived there, I'm reasonably sure that in New Zealand, Diesel is indeed taxed at a rather higher rate.

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