ICCT report calls for strengthening of fuel quality and emissions standards in developing markets

Mon 04 November 2013 View all news

The impact of poor air quality on human health could be dramatically reduced by extending the vehicle emissions and fuel-quality standards already in force in the world's biggest vehicle markets to all other markets according to a new report from the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT).

Exposure to outdoor air pollution is a leading cause of premature mortality and was associated with 3.2 million early deaths globally in 2010 according to a comprehensive report. Vehicles are a major contributor to outdoor air pollution, especially in urban areas where the world’s population is also projected to grow most rapidly.

The ICCT says that extending stringent fuel quality and emissions standards could cut by 75% the number of premature deaths caused annually by fine particle emissions in 2030. 

The report - 'The impact of vehicle and fuel standards on premature mortality and emissions' - was commissioned by the ICCT to provide a "global policy roadmap". It highlights the need for regulators to consider both vehicle emissions as well as the quality of the fuel being used in those vehicles. It estimates global pollution expected to arise from vehicles to 2030 and the premature deaths associated with exposure to direct emissions of fine particles from vehicles in urban areas.

Without new actions to limit vehicle emissions, the health impacts of road transport will increase significantly from present-day levels in many countries around the world. However, the imposition of stringent standards could force the introduction of technologies that will cut emissions of local air pollutants by more than 99 percent compared with uncontrolled vehicles.

The report's main conclusions include: 

  • 50 percent of urban vehicle emissions and associated health impacts currently occur in regions that account for only twenty percent of global vehicle activity, especially developing regions of the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, and the Asia-Pacific.
  • Diesel trucks and buses, especially those with minimal emission controls, account for more than 80 percent of global fine particle and nitrogen oxide emissions from road vehicles.
  • Accelerated adoption of stringent fuel and vehicle standards in those jurisdictions that do not currently mandate the equivalent of Euro 6/VI or U.S. Tier 3 regulations, would prevent 210,000 premature deaths in 2030 and mitigate 1.4 GtCO2e (applying GWP-100 metric) cumulatively from 2015 to 2030, 95 percent of which would come from reductions in black carbon. The climate benefits are 3.5 times greater when considering near-term impacts (using GWP-20).
  • Accelerated policy adoption in China and India alone would prevent 90,000 early deaths in the year 2030, about 40 percent of the global total.

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