Alignment of policies to maximize the climate benefits of diesel vehicles through control of particulate matter and black carbon emissions

Diesel vehicles offer greater fuel-efficiency and lower greenhouse gas emissions at a time when national governments seek to reduce the energy and climate impacts of the vehicle fleet. Policies that promote diesels like preferential fuel taxes, fuel economy standards and greenhouse gas emission standards can produce higher emissions of diesel particulate matter if diesel particulate filters or equivalent emission control technology is not in place. This can undermine the expected climate benefits of dieselization and increase impacts on public health. This paper takes a historical look at Europe to illustrate the degree to which dieselization and lax controls on particulate matter can undermine the potential benefits sought from diesel vehicles. We show that countries on the dieselization pathway can fully capture the value of diesels with the adoption of tailpipe emission standards equivalent to Euro 6 or Tier 2 for passenger cars, and fuel quality standards that limit the sulfur content of diesel fuel to no greater than 15ppm. Adoption of these policies before or in parallel with adoption of fuel consumption and greenhouse gas standards can avert the negative impacts of dieselization.

[1]  S. Bauer,et al.  A global modeling study on carbonaceous aerosol microphysical characteristics and radiative effects , 2010 .

[2]  David S. Lee,et al.  Transport impacts on atmosphere and climate: Metrics , 2010 .

[3]  L. Greene.  EHPnet: United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change , 2000, Environmental Health Perspectives.

[4]  R. Betts,et al.  Changes in Atmospheric Constituents and in Radiative Forcing. Chapter 2 , 2007 .

[5]  Unfccc.  Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change , 1997 .

[6]  Jessica Seddon Wallack,et al.  The Other Climate Changers , 2009 .

[7]  W. P. Ball,et al.  Comparison of quantification methods to measure fire‐derived (black/elemental) carbon in soils and sediments using reference materials from soil, water, sediment and the atmosphere , 2007 .

[8]  D. Dockery,et al.  Health Effects of Fine Particulate Air Pollution: Lines that Connect , 2006, Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association.

[9]  Katsumasa Tanaka,et al.  Emission Standards : The Case for Gasoline and Diesel Cars , 2012 .

[10]  T. Bond,et al.  Light Absorption by Carbonaceous Particles: An Investigative Review , 2006 .

[11]  V. Ramanathan,et al.  Impact of California's air pollution laws on black carbon and their implications for direct radiative forcing , 2010 .

[12]  Daniel Krewski,et al.  Public health benefits of strategies to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions: health implications of short-lived greenhouse pollutants , 2009, The Lancet.

[13]  Thomas D. Durbin,et al.  Particulate emission rates from light-duty vehicles in the South Coast Air Quality Management District , 1999 .

[14]  Nicholas Z. Muller,et al.  Climate, Health, Agricultural and Economic Impacts of Tighter Vehicle-Emission Standards , 2011 .

[15]  Lee Schipper,et al.  Diesels in Europe: Analysis of Characteristics, Usage Patterns, Energy Savings and CO 2 Emission Implications , 2002 .

[16]  Stephen O. Andersen,et al.  Reducing abrupt climate change risk using the Montreal Protocol and other regulatory actions to complement cuts in CO2 emissions , 2009, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[17]  T. Berntsen,et al.  Specific climate impact of passenger and freight transport. , 2010, Environmental science & technology.

[18]  Jacob Swanson,et al.  Alternatives to the Gravimetric Method for Quantification of Diesel Particulate Matter near the Lower Level of Detection , 2010, Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association.

[19]  A W Gertler,et al.  On-road particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10) emissions in the Sepulveda Tunnel, Los Angeles, California. , 2001, Environmental science & technology.

[20]  Christopher A. Laroo,et al.  In-use light-duty gasoline vehicle particulate matter emissions on three driving cycles. , 2001, Environmental science & technology.

[21]  Mark Z. Jacobson,et al.  Correction to ''Control of fossil-fuel particulate black carbon and organic matter, possibly the most effective method of slowing global warming'' , 2005 .

[22]  Tami C. Bond,et al.  Historical emissions of black and organic carbon aerosol from energy‐related combustion, 1850–2000 , 2007 .

[23]  David P. Dobson,et al.  The FeSi phase diagram to 150 GPa , 2010 .

[24]  Mark Z. Jacobson,et al.  Short-term effects of controlling fossil-fuel soot, biofuel soot and gases, and methane on climate, Arctic ice, and air pollution health , 2010 .

[25]  Veerabhadran Ramanathan,et al.  The Copenhagen Accord for limiting global warming: Criteria, constraints, and available avenues , 2010, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[26]  J. Lelieveld,et al.  Transport impacts on atmosphere and climate: Land transport , 2010 .

[27]  M. Jacobson.  Control of fossil‐fuel particulate black carbon and organic matter, possibly the most effective method of slowing global warming , 2002 .

[28]  Corinne Le Quéré,et al.  Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis , 2013 .

[29]  R. Sausen,et al.  Modeling the climate impact of road transport, maritime shipping and aviation over the period 1860–2100 with an AOGCM , 2011 .

[30]  V. Ramanathan,et al.  Global and regional climate changes due to black carbon , 2008 .

[31]  Kaarle Kupiainen,et al.  Simultaneously Mitigating Near-Term Climate Change and Improving Human Health and Food Security , 2012, Science.

[32]  M. Maccracken,et al.  Lifetime‐leveraging: An approach to achieving international agreement and effective climate protection using mitigation of short‐lived greenhouse gases , 2009 .

[33]  J. Hansen,et al.  Global warming in the twenty-first century: an alternative scenario. , 2000, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[34]  Nic Lutsey.  Comparison of Emissions, Energy, and Cost Impacts of Diesel and Hybrid Models in the United States in 2010 , 2011 .

[35]  D. Koch,et al.  Quantifying immediate radiative forcing by black carbon and organic matter with the Specific Forcing Pulse , 2010 .

[36]  Lee Schipper,et al.  Disappointed by Diesel? , 2009 .