Emissions around the world
I’m searching (without much success, it must be said) for South African legislation on vehicle emissions. Currently the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism have been rather helpful, although apparently the legislation I’m looking for falls under the auspices of the Department of Transport. Nevertheless, there’s an aptly-named woman at the D.E.A.T called centre, Sweetness, who’s helping me uncover some info. The Transport Department is a little less helpful, but I’ll keep hassling them.
In the mean time, let’s take a look at some emissions standards from other areas.
With 18 million cars sold each year, Europe is certainly a major global car market. The Euro standard defines the acceptable limits for exhaust emissions of new vehicles sold in EU member states. Euro standards apply to most vehicle types, including cars, trucks, trains, tractors and similar machinery, barges, but not seagoing ships and airplanes.
European emission standards for Passenger Cars, g/km
| Tier | Date | CO | HC | HC+NOx | NOx | PM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diesel | ||||||
| Euro I | 1992 | 2.72 | - | 0.97 | - | 0.14 |
| Euro II, IDI | 1996 | 1.0 | - | 0.7 | - | 0.08 |
| Euro II, DI | 1996 | 1.0 | - | 0.9 | - | 0.10 |
| Euro III | 2000 | 0.64 | - | 0.56 | 0.50 | 0.05 |
| Euro IV | 2005 | 0.50 | - | 0.30 | 0.25 | 0.025 |
| Euro V (proposed) | 2009 | 0.50 | - | 0.23 | 0.18 | 0.005 |
| Petrol | ||||||
| Euro I | 1992 | 2.72 | - | 0.97 | - | - |
| Euro II | 1996 | 2.2 | - | 0.5 | - | - |
| Euro III | 2000 | 2.30 | 0.20 | - | 0.15 | - |
| Euro IV | 2005 | 1.0 | 0.10 | - | 0.08 | - |
| Euro V (proposed) | 2009 | 1.0 | 0.075 | - | 0.06 | 0.005 |
You’ll notice that while carbon monoxide (CO), hydrocarbons (HC), nitrogen oxide (NOx) and particulate matter (PM) are all regulated, there is no EU regulation for carbon dioxide (CO2). There is, however, a voluntary agreement in place between the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) and the European Commission to limit the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by passenger cars sold in Europe. Signed in 1998, the agreement seeks to achieve an average of 140 g/km of CO2 by 2008. As of 2005, FIAT has already reached the target, with a 139 g/km fleet average.
Stay tuned for more updates on emissions standards in other areas, as well as more in-depth explanations about the different emissions types and how nasty they really are.
Source: Wikipedia
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I was browsing Digg earlier and came across this:
http://consumerist.com/consumer/news-from-the-swamp/want-to-drive-in-the-hov-lane-without-passengers-the-epa-has-a-rule-for-you-261984.php
Quite cool.