CO2 Emissions Targets Not Met says EC
European and Asian automakers must do more to meet voluntary targets to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from new cars or face possible legislative action, the European Union's executive arm said today.
The European Commission said average CO2 emissions from new cars in the 15 "old" EU member states in 2004 were down 12.4 percent from 1995 levels, far off the target of a roughly 25 percent cut by 2008/09.
"The situation is not satisfactory. I urge industry to step up their efforts," Industry Commissioner Guenter Verheugen said in a statement.
The 2004 figures showed a slight improvement from 2003, when new car emissions were down 11.8 percent from 1995 levels.
European carmakers have agreed to reduce C02 emissions from new cars to an average of 140 grams per kilometer by 2008, while Japanese and Korean manufacturers have agreed to meet that goal by 2009. The target represents a cut of around 25 percent from 1995 levels.
Verheugen and Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas said in the statement they would consider taking legislative measures if automakers did not meet those commitments.
The European Automobile Manufacturers Association pledged to keep working on the problem but described consumer demand for "safer and larger cars" as having a counterproductive effect on reducing car pollution.
It called on policy makers to create tax incentives to prod consumers to buy less-polluting cars.
"There is now a need to link the taxation of cars and of alternative fuels more vigorously to CO2 emissions," ACEA Secretary General Ivan Hodac said in a statement.
BMW said in March it will start serial production within two years of cars that burn hydrogen in modified engines, beginning with a few hundred cars that can switch between gasoline and hydrogen so drivers are not stranded seeking a hydrogen pump.
Within Europe, vehicles with hybrid motors -- which combine a standard engine to electric motors and a battery -- are on the rise but still represent well less than 1 percent of new cars registered.
The auto industry's CO2 agreements make up part of the 25-country EU's efforts to meet its commitments to fight climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions under the Kyoto Protocol.
Under Kyoto, the EU's 15 "old" member states must reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 8 percent below 1990 levels by 2012.
The Commission said cars were responsible for more than 10 percent of the EU's CO2 emissions.
Carmakers are in no hurry to see CO2 targets bundled into mandatory legislation. PSA/Peugeot-Citroen said the company found it too premature to speak about new laws because the voluntary targets applied for 2008.
"In general we are against legislation because it is a free market and in the end the consumer decides," said spokesman Marc Bouque, adding carmakers cannot force consumers to buy more environmentally-friendly cars.
Big Oil
Big Oil has a vested interest in not developing alternatives, lest they contol the alternatives. This is the reason Shell and BP are heavily researching renewable energy sources such as hydrogen and biofuels.
Shell already blends of biofuels like ethanol into vehicle fuel and is currently developing a biomass-to-liquid processes, in which a woody feedstock is first gasified and then converted into high-quality diesel fuel components. Through a partnership with CHOREN Industries who has developed its patented Carbo-V biomass-gasification process, Shell is creating ultra clean tar-free synthetic gas to be used as an advanced bio-component for use in diesel fuel.
Shell is also working on the development of fuel cell vehicles through a partnership with automakers in California. The California Fuel Cell Partnership as it is called includes automakers like GM, Ford, Honda and DaimlerChrysler and others but also includes BP, Chevron and Ballard Power Systems, one of the leading developers in fuel cell technology.
Aside from working toward developing fuel cells, BP is also looking to diversify on its energy supply. The company has been investing heavily in solar power and plans to continue harnessing the sun's energy over the next three years. In a field where technology improvements and higher productivity are causing costs to decline, BP currently has 10 percent of the global market which is growing at 30 percent a year, faster than any other form of renewable energy.
Building on the success of BP Solar, BP started its own Alternative Energy initiative last year which will manage an investment program in solar, wind, hydrogen and combined-cycle-gas-turbine (CCGT) power generation.
Biodiesel Benefits
One surefire way to decrease dependency on foreign oil is to find a substitute. Biodiesel can be used outright in diesel engines with little if any modification or can be blended with conventional petrodiesel fuel. Pure biodiesel is nontoxic and allows farmers to contribute to our energy needs. In pure form or even blended to create B30 (30 percent biodiesel 70 percent petrodiesel) the fuel is actually better for diesel engines because of its viscosity.
The fuel also decreases, by significant levels, soot and particulate emissions as well as CO2, the leading contributor to global warming. The plants grown to produce biodiesel absorb CO2 which is later released into the atmosphere when the fuel is consumed. Blended or neat biodiesel has the potential to reduce diesel CO emissions and measured HC emissions, though there may be an increase in NOx emissions for biodiesel fuel when compared to diesel fuel. The higher NOx emissions from biodiesel-powered engines are partly due to the higher cetane number of biodiesel, which causes a shorter ignition delay and higher peak cylinder pressure.
Hybrid Taxi Fleet
In NYC, taxis are everywhere. Convenient and practical for getting around the metropolis, they are nonetheless contributing to the city's adverse air quality and consuming vast quantities of fuel through their eight cylinder powerplants. With hybrid technology making headlines, it seems only natural to try them in the grueling real world scenario that is the life of a taxicab.
We'll see how well they fare.
Flex Fuel vehicles
Flex Fuel vehicles are no more difficult to build than regular cars and they enable the vehicle to run on either ethanol or conventional gasoline, so why aren't all automakers building every single car with this capability? Unfortunately I don't have the answer to that question. To me it seems that a few hoses and a bigger reinforced tank would be a simple solution to America's hunger for oil all while creating jobs for local farmers.
In Brazil, 90% of cars produced can run on both gasoline and ethanol. The fuel is produced from sugarcane because it is plentiful, but it could just as easily be created with corn, switchgrass, potatoes, or any other biomass. Watch the video below to find out what is causing the increasing interest in biofuels and flex fuel vehicles.
Toyota: A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing?
Toyota became a big hit in the United States after the oil embargo of the 1970’s sparked an interest in more frugal vehicles that the company was importing. Since then it has fared extremely well in both quality and reliability surveys and finds more repeat buyers than any other automaker. And now, with surging oil prices and a change in American customer buying habits, the automaker has just surpassed Ford to become the second largest manufacturer in the world. The company has also been given credit for pioneering hybrid technology in the form of the Prius gasoline-electric vehicle (even though it did not) and has licensed this technology to the Ford Motor Company and collaborated with rival Nissan to produce its own vehicles using the patented technology.
The benefits of hybrid technology are not applicable in all driving scenarios, and many hybrid buyers have not seen the mileage figures claimed by the company. That is largely because the US, with its expansive highway system and greater travel distances, does not do the technology justice. So Toyota began countering this by producing vehicles (such as those in its Lexus luxury division) that would use the electric motor to supplement power rather than economy. This has led to some environmental groups portraying the manufacturer as “a wolf in sheep’s clothing”, stating that the automaker is building cars under the pretense that they are better for the environment when they offer no significant gains over a traditional ICE counterpart (Bluewater, 2005).
But even a Toyota Prius, the now iconic ‘green’ motor vehicle who has attracted celebrities and environmentalists worldwide, does not surpass the environmental accreditation that the Volkswagen Golf TDi garners while running on biodiesel. According to the Green Car Company, the CO2 emissions from the Prius (whose 1.5 liter 4 cylinder 76hp motor mated to a 500 volt permanent magnet AC synchronous motor) creates 267 grams per mile, while a biodiesel fuelled Volkswagen TDi emits only 61 grams per mile.
Alternative Fuels Service Station
The future of fuel remains to be written, but it seems clear the rate of petroleum consumption is only increasing the world over. As developed and developing countries increase their demand for crude oil and energy, we will notice a demand induced price spiral on gasoline prices. Not only will costs increase, but we will also become increasingly dependant on foreign oil imported from some less than stable parts of the world.
In order to decrease our dependency and 'addiction' - as President Bush so aptly referred to it in his State of the Union Address in Tennessee - we must continue our quest to implementing renewable fuel stations and locally produced energy to fuel the ever-increasing number of vehicles on our roads. One gentleman in North Carolina (who also happens to be a Ford dealer) has the right idea. He's opened a service station that sells alternative fuels, and sold out of biodiesel on his first day!
