Global Trends in Motor Vehicle Pollution Control- a 2004 Update

摘要

The automobile is, arguably, the most environmentally harmful technology on earth. Autos—andtrucks and buses—are responsible for the fastest-growing fraction of greenhouse gases, they are theprimary source of urban air pollution, and their collective appetite for oil has created the enormous,costly, environmentally damaging, and politically tenuous exploration, drilling, refining, and transportinfrastructure called the oil system. These problems can be substantially solved (air pollution) oralleviated (energy and greenhouse gases) with the accelerated introduction of new vehicle and fueltechnologies. The best new cars on the road today using the cleanest fuels emit only a tiny fraction asmuch pollution as the dirtiest new car, and consume much less fuel.While vehicle technologies have improved substantially in response to more than 40 years of regulation, thelegislative and regulatory systems to encourage cleaner cars have often lagged, or have moved forward inuneven ways, or have created unnecessary trade-offs, or have simply missed important pollutants.This global overview represents a 'report card,' assessing progress towards cleaning up vehicles indifferent jurisdictions, and highlighting some of the key trends in the field. The report finds:1. Europe has made great progress on reducing greenhouse gases from motor vehicles, and Japanhas significantly tightened its standards—but the US fleet is falling further and further behindwith regard to these pollutants. California is attempting to close this gap.2. In contrast, emissions standards for diesel cars in Europe, Japan, and the US differ greatly, withthe toughest standards in Europe and Japan allowing 2 to 4 times more pollution than USstandards.3. New technologies, especially hybrids and advanced diesels, are crucial for solving the pollutionand greenhouse gas problems simultaneously, but no jurisdiction, possibly exceptingCalifornia, has policies that adequately stimulate the market for these new technologies.4. Developing nations could achieve world-class standards for autos—both in terms of pollutionreduction and fuel efficiency—within a decade, at a modest cost and with enormous healthbenefits, reduced fuel costs, and reduced refinery capacity investments. To achieve this, it iscrucial that developing nations reduce sulfur in their fuels.New technologies—in refineries, engines, drive systems, and vehicles—that can drastically reduce theenvironmental impact of cars, trucks, and buses are becoming less expensive and more reliable. Buttheir benefits may never be realized unless the leading auto producing and auto using nationsaccelerate their adoption. This paper describes recent progress and identifies the most important nextsteps.