title: Climate effects of emission standards: the case for gasoline and diesel cars.
abstract: Passenger transport affects climate through various mechanisms involving both long-lived and short-lived climate forcers. Because diesel cars generally emit less CO(2) than gasoline cars, CO(2) emission taxes for vehicle registrations and fuels enhance the consumer preference for diesel cars over gasoline cars. However, with the non-CO(2) components, which have been changed and will be changed under the previous and upcoming vehicle emission standards, what does the shift from gasoline to diesel cars mean for the climate mitigation? By using a simple climate model, we demonstrate that, under the earlier emissions standards (EURO 3 and 4), a diesel car causes a larger warming up to a decade after the emissions than a similar gasoline car due to the higher emissions of black carbon and NO(X) (enhancing the O(3) production). Beyond a decade, the warming caused by a diesel car becomes, however, weaker because of the lower CO(2) emissions. As the latter emissions standards (EURO 5 and 6) are phased in, the short-term warming due to a diesel car becomes smaller primarily due to the lower black carbon emissions. Thus, although results are subject to restrictive assumptions and uncertainties, the switch from gasoline to diesel cars encouraged by CO(2) taxes does not contradict with the climate mitigation focusing on long-term consequences.
authors.affiliation: CICERO (Center for International Climate and Environmental Research-Oslo) P.O. Box 1129, Blindern, N-0318 Oslo, Norway. katsumasa.tanaka@env.ethz.ch
authors.forename: Katsumasa
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: Terje
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Berntsen
authors.forename: Jan S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Fuglestvedt
authors.forename: Kristin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Rypdal
mesh_terms: D002980:Climate; D005742:Gasoline; D018986:Motor Vehicles / Q000592:standards*; D035501:Uncertainty; D001335:Vehicle Emissions
chemical_list: D005742:Gasoline; D001335:Vehicle Emissions