The Role of Alternative Fuels in Meeting the Proposed 2012 EU CO{sub}2 Emissions Target

摘要

Significant research, discussion, legislation and incentives center around the use of alternative fuels in order to reduce vehicle CO{sub}2 emissions. Over the last 7 years, legislation from Sweden, Italy and the UK has contributed to similar decreases in the average tailpipe emissions of each country. Should the well-to-wheel emissions concept be recognised, the Swedish system has achieved a superior reduction. A statistical CO{sub}2 emissions forecast model has been used to evaluate different future fuel usage scenarios. A large share of E85 production can offer further emissions reductions by 2012 on a well-to-wheel basis, although emits more when measured at the tailpipe. High CNG penetration provides a significant improvement when compared to the base 2012 forecast, although the infrastructure investment required does not justify the modest improvement when compared to a complete market shift to diesel.