The World Is Embracing S.U.V.s. That’s Bad News For The Climate. According to The New York Times, “Spurred by rising incomes and lower gas prices, drivers in China, Australia and other countries are ditching their smaller sedans for bigger rides at a rapid pace. For the first time, S.U.V.s and their lighter, more carlike cousins known as ‘crossovers’ made up more than one in three cars sold globally last year, almost tripling their share from just a decade ago, according to new figures from the auto research firm JATO Dynamics. ‘Everyone is jumping on S.U.V.s,’ said Matthew Weiss, JATO Dynamics’ president for North America. The ascent of S.U.V.s and crossovers is already slowing progress in reining in emissions from the world’s cars and trucks, major emitters of the gases that are warming the planet. Transportation accounts for an estimated 14 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, with cars and trucks making up the biggest share. Between 2005 and 2008, the average fuel economy of new cars worldwide improved by about 1.8 percent a year, according to the United Nations’ Global Fuel Economy Initiative. But since then, that pace has slowed to 1.1 percent in 2015, the latest data available, far below the near 3-percent clip needed to simply stabilize emissions from the world’s car fleet. There are no signs that trend has improved since then, said Anup Bandivadekar, who heads the passenger vehicle program at the International Council on Clean Transportation, a nonprofit think tank affiliated with the United Nations initiative. ‘It’s making progress in fuel economy increasingly difficult,’ he said. … ‘It seems to be an American male thing to think: ‘I may want to haul things,’ said Lewis Fulton, who co-directs the sustainable transportation program at the University of California, Davis, Institute of Transportation Studies. ‘If that caught on in other countries, it really wouldn’t help.’” [The New York Times, 3/3/18 (+)]

 

Clean Vehicle Group Cites Case Study To Defend EPA GHG Rule Modeling. According to Inside EPA, “A new analysis from the clean vehicle group International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) defends the modeling tools EPA used to support its model year 2022-2025 light-duty vehicle greenhouse gas standards against industry claims the modeling overestimates the availability of technology options to comply with the limits. The analysis -- based on a comparison of predicted efficiency improvements from several technologies and real-world implementation of those technologies in the 2018 Toyota Camry -- enters a broader battle over the current GHG and fuel economy rules, which the Trump administration appears poised to weaken. ICCT says its work provides a real-world demonstration of the importance of models EPA used to to justify its current MY22-25 rules, showing they are not only reliable predictors of how efficiency upgrades lower emissions but may even understate their benefits, particularly when accounting for improvements in vehicle performance. ‘The results show that the actual [carbon dioxide] reductions of 18.6 percent achieved in the 2018 Camry exceed the 17.7 percent reductions predicted by EPA models,’ ICCT says in its modeling case study. ICCT says this is a significant validation of EPA models, and that this has added significance because the vehicle upgrades studied are already in a 2018 model -- seven years prior to MY25 -- with further yet-to-be-implemented refinements not likely to be a heavy lift to comply with the MY25 standards.” [Inside EPA, 3/2/18 (=)]

 

Tesla Factory Fined For Emitting Nitrogen Oxides. According to E&E News, “California regulators have slapped Tesla Inc. with a more than $100,000 fine for air pollution violations at one of its factories near San Francisco. In a settlement with the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, the company agreed to pay $139,500 for the infractions and install solar panels on the roof of a local Boys and Girls Club. ‘Although Tesla develops electric vehicles and related technologies that California needs to address global climate change, the company still must comply with all their permit conditions,’ Jack Broadbent, the district’s executive officer, said in a statement. Between 2013 and 2016, malfunctioning equipment at the factory released high levels of smog-forming nitrogen oxides, according to the district. Tesla said the pollution was the result of old equipment left over from other operations at the plant, which was previously owned by General Motors Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. The electric carmaker said it has since spent over $3 billion on upgrades.” [E&E News, 3/2/18 (=)]

 

Electric Vehicles: The Little Industry That Could Take A Bite Out Of Oil Demand. According to CNBC, “Electric vehicles are expected to be 30% of new car sales by 2040, up from 1% today, forecasts IHS Markit. By 2025 there should be 36 million electric vehicles on the road. EVs, fuel efficiency standards and ride-sharing are trends that will reduce oil consumption in the years ahead. Demand for oil will grow slower, as a result, starting in the next decade.” [CNBC, 3/2/18 (=)]