Public policies and the environmental performance of the passenger car fleet

Daniel Faudry, IEPE-CNRS
Yves Crozet, Laurent Ginetti, and Jean-Pierre Nicolas, LET
Richard Darbéra, LATTS
Nicolas Golovtchenko and Marie-Christine Zelem, CERTOP
Sonia Hadjaj, ECODEV-CNRS
Francois Mirabel, CREDEN
Benoit Simon, CIRED-CNRS-EHESS

Keywords

Abstract

The contribution of road vehicles to greenhouse gas emissions has been growing rapidly in all the OECD countries since the last oil crisis. In France two-thirds of total emissions in the sector are attributed to the passenger cars. Most of the increase in emissions can be attributed to mobility which is the least flexible factor in the long and even the very long term.

This study aims at evaluating existing instruments concerning various measures which could lead to improvements in the environmental quality of passenger cars fleet and, in particular, to a decrease in their energy intensity. The following countries were selected for cases study: France, Germany, Switzerland, USA, Holland, Denmark, Sweden.

The decrease in unit consumption which was quite marked up to the early 1980s has slowed considerably over the last ten years. However this stagnation in conventional consumption, hides the real progress that has been made in terms of the energy efficiency of car engines. Overall, virtually all of this improvement was absorbed by an increase in average engine power, required by extra weight and equipment.

The following measures are analysed: voluntary agreement on the reduction of CO2 emissions, average fuel consumption standard for new cars, feebates system, scrappage schemes, in-car speed limiters. In addition, the study analyses how the specialised automobile press and marketing strategies are concerned by environmental problem.

Interim conclusions that can be drawn from this research still to be completed suggest that objectives will be met only by a package of measures.