There are currently around 90 cities that India's Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) identified as critically polluted. Particulate matter (PM), especially fine particulate matter (PM2.5), dominates the concern. Other air pollutants such as NO2, ozone (O3), and air toxics are also problematic. The health problems caused by these pollutants are affecting not only large cities, but also many smaller, rapidly expanding cities across India.

This report highlights a problem currently being experienced by new Euro IV and V heavy-duty trucks and buses: Despite meeting more stringent regulatory standards for exhaust emissions during type approval, many vehicles equipped with selective catalytic reduction (SCR) systems have significantly elevated emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) during in-use driving, particularly when operating in urban traffic. In some cases, actual in-use urban emission levels may be as high as or higher than those from much older vehicles with engines certified to more lenient emission standards.

This paper compares fuel consumption / CO2 values of passenger cars from different sources and aims at quantifying the discrepancy between laboratory type-approval values and real-world values, including a retrospective analysis for the years 2001-2011 to determine if the gap between the two datasets has increased over time. Potential explanations for the discrepancies found are discussed and possible practical solutions for the future outlined.

Worldwide, commercial vehicles are the largest growing contributor to air pollution, fuel consumption, and global warming emissions in the on-road transportation sector. As with passenger vehicles, there are a variety of fuel, engine, and powertrain technology options for trucks and buses that can reduce criteria pollutant and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions compared with conventionally-powered diesel and gasoline vehicles. Examples of these advanced technologies include hybrid-electric, plug-in hybrid-electric, and hybrid hydraulic-powered drivetrains.

To support development of a European Union (EU) strategy for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the heavy-duty vehicle (HDV) sector, the report entitled “Reduction and Testing of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions from Heavy Duty Vehicles – Lot 1: Strategy” was prepared for the European Commission by AEA and Ricardo.1 The report itemized the potential fuel efficiency improvement technologies that may be applied to various HDV segments and

This new working paper by ICCT identifies the most effective technologies for CO2, emissions and safety measures and maps the status of regulatory programs for 2- and 3-wheeler management in Asian countries.

Palm oil expansion in Southeast Asia is strongly associated with conversion and degradation of peatland. Find that past studies have generally significantly underestimated emissions from palm oil grown on peatland. In particular, this will have resulted in underestimation of the indirect land use change emissions from many biofuels. Suggest that 86 CO2-eq ha-1 yr-1 (over 50 years) or 100 CO2-eq ha-1 yr-1 (over 25 years) represent the best available estimates of typical emissions from peat decomposition in palm plantations.

On February 15, 2011 the European Parliament adopted legislation that, for the first time, will regulate CO2 emissions from light commercial vehicles (LCV) in Europe. The original legislative proposal was issued by the European Commission in October 2009, and since then it has been debated between the regulatory agencies in Europe.

The Regulatory Engine: How Smart Policy Drives Vehicle Innovation is a concise summary of the technologies in play and the state of fuel and vehicle efficiency standards in the key automotive markets worldwide.