(Media release) LowCVP takes first steps to a 'beyond tailpipe' measure of emissions from road vehicles
Thu 11 July 2013
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The introduction of new energy technologies in road transport will mean that the current tailpipe measures of the climate impact of vehicles will become increasingly inadequate in future. By publishing a new report alongside today’s Annual Conference which is focusing wholly on this theme, the LowCVP aims to facilitate the first steps towards ‘beyond tailpipe’ measurement.
While, currently, about 80% of greenhouse gas emissions occur during the ‘in-use’ phase of a vehicle’s life, the introduction of plug-in electric vehicles – the Committee on Climate Change wants to see 1.7 million on the road by 2020 – means that more and more of the total carbon emissions from cars and other vehicles will occur at the power station, and during the production and disposal of vehicles and fuels.
The new report - “Life Cycle CO2e Assessment of Low Carbon Cars 2020-2030” - prepared for the LowCVP by PE International and validated by Partnership stakeholders – shows how total life cycle CO2e emissions will change for different vehicle technologies in the future and estimates how the balance of emissions will alter for different stages in the life cycle for the varying technologies.
The report builds on an earlier study, “Preparing for a Life Cycle CO2 Measure” written for the LowCVP by Ricardo. The main conclusions of that study were that future CO2e metrics for passenger cars need to go ‘beyond the tailpipe’ and take account of whole life cycle CO2e emissions to more fully account for environmental impacts. It clearly shows that there are a range of potential routes to deliver significant carbon reductions, including both increased electrical mobility with battery vehicles and plug-in hybrids but also low carbon liquid and gaseous fuels. However, current measurement methods do not reflect the real impacts.
The LowCVP Managing Director, Andy Eastlake says: “This new report indicates that it is time to move on from the current tailpipe carbon measure, but whole vehicle life cycle analysis is a very complex process and further work is needed.
“With the in-use phase continuing to dominate vehicle impact for at least the next decade the LowCVP is calling for the UK to lead the way in incorporating the new test-cycle and a well-to-wheel approach to fuel consumption and vehicle efficiency to provide both industry and consumers with better information on the carbon impact of their vehicles.
“Today’s report and conference will help shape the work of the LowCVP over the next few years as we focus on delivering real carbon savings from the road transport sector.”
The PE International study suggests that the embodied impacts of the vehicles themselves will become more of a focus for further decarbonisation in future. There is already clear evidence – as will be presented at the LowCVP Conference today - that manufacturers are already beginning to turn more of their attention to vehicle component materials and production processes. The materials used in production have differing amounts of embodied carbon and their choice, for example, of lightweight steel and aluminium also impacts on emissions occurring during the operation phase.
The report says that the clear trend is that the use of tailpipe CO2 emissions as an established comparator for different vehicles will become less effective, and almost irrelevant in terms of identifying the true carbon profiles and reduction potential, for future vehicles.
The report highlights that with ambitious policies, reductions in excess of 60% in lifetime CO2e impacts can be achieved by 2030 through a combination of factors from the production phase, use phases and end-of-life phase. In addition to a greater emphasis on the embodied impacts of the vehicles, recycling/re-use of high-impact vehicle components such as electric vehicle battery packs may have the potential to contribute significantly to decarbonisation efforts of the embodied impacts of future vehicles.
The LowCVP Chair, Professor Neville Jackson said: “To select the most appropriate future technologies and products, we need to take a more holistic view of their environmental impacts and it is increasingly clear that we need to look beyond the tailpipe.
“However, it is also evident that many assumptions need to be made to arrive at a broader CO2 measure and significant research work will be needed to explore and agree a new set of measures that we can use. The LowCVP report is a significant contribution to this agenda.”
Published to coincide with the LowCVP’s Annual Conference the report aims to promote the discussion on how to develop vehicle policies that meet the needs of the industry and consumers together with legislators and the global society.
Contributors to today’s LowCVP Conference on the theme of ‘Beyond the Tailpipe’ include senior representatives of: Committee on Climate Change; European Commission; Department for Transport; UK Petroleum Industry Association; EDF Energy; Carbon Trust; Energy Saving Trust; Jaguar Land Rover; RAC Foundation BMW; WhatCar?; Ricardo-AEA; Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders; Transport and Environment (T&E) and others.
To download the full report, click here.
To see the full press release click here.
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