[edit] Federal Emissions Standards | EPA | Auto Manufacturers
With the current focus on climate change, greenhouse gases and global warming, automobile emissions play a central role in the current dialogue regarding the environmental health of our planet. It is no secret that the exhaust gases produced by an internal combustion engine, either gasoline or diesel, contains pollutants which can have a significant impact on the world around us. For this reason, laws and guidelines have been established which describe the acceptable limits to be applied to tailpipe emissions. These limits must be respected by automakers when designing new vehicles.
[edit] History of Emissions Standards
Where exactly do these federal emissions standards come from, and who is responsible for ensuring that they are obeyed? In the United States, environmental regulations are the province of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The EPA is in charge of a wide range of pollution and ecological concerns, and automotive emissions are but one facet of their mandate.
Atmospheric pollution falls under the sphere of the Clean Air Act, which was passed in 1963, and underwent significant revisions over the ensuing years in order to reflect technological and environmental changes. The most recent amendment of the Act occurred in 1990. The EPA uses the Act as the centerpiece for its emissions standards, but recently it has also had to consider the effects of a 2007 executive order from President George Bush. This order would require a significant reduction in the amount of greenhouse gases emitted by automobiles. The proposed Clear Skies Act from 2003 is also a factor in future emissions legislation.
[edit] Current State of Emissions Standards
Currently, automobile manufacturers are required to follow the rules laid out in Title II of the Clean Air Act, which deals with ‘Motor Vehicle Emission and Fuel Standards’. When amendments to the act were made in 1990, it was not only engine emissions which were affected, but also fuel formulations at the pump, which were reconstituted during heavy driving months in order to produce fewer harmful gases. Car companies were told that they would have to begin systematically reducing the emissions produced by their vehicles across the board, and that these restrictions would tighten with each passing year. This meant that any vehicles sold in the United States would have to consistently reduce the amount of greenhouse gases being emitted in order to be sold within the country’s borders. Not all vehicles were held to exactly the same standards, with cars, light trucks and heavy equipment all having to meet widely varying limits.
For some types of engines, these standards were difficult to adhere to. In particular, diesel engines were often unable to pass emissions tests under the new rules, largely due to the high sulfur content in U.S. diesel fuels, a problem not encountered in Europe. Another issue was the question of state emissions controls versus federal. California had been given special permission by the federal government to enforce their own stricter emissions regulations, and this meant that certain vehicles were not available for sale or legal registration in that state. This lead to other states demanding the right to police their own air quality, and several court challenges were made, some of which are ongoing.
[edit] The Future of Emissions Standards
The primary goal of the Clean Air Act with respect to automobiles is to eventually work towards zero emissions for all road going vehicles. The new proposals made by President Bush regarding greenhouse gases present a significant challenge for manufacturers, since they create an accelerated timetable for emissions reduction as well as requiring 5 times the number of alternative fuel vehicles to be available at the end of a ten year period than previously legislated. In addition to alternative fuels, the overall Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) for each manufacturer would be more strictly enforced and more rapidly escalated. Jointly governed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the EPA, this law requires that the average fuel economy measured across the entire lineup of vehicles (with some exceptions) meet a specific standard. By increasing this value, less fuel would be consumed by new vehicles and as a result, fewer harmful emissions would result.
[edit] Consumer Impact of Emissions Standards
The end effect of this type of emissions legislation on consumers has been mixed. While drivers do get to enjoy the benefits of vehicles which have better overall fuel economy than previous models, and the air quality of major cities has not continued to degrade quite as rapidly as was feared in the past, there is a significant dollar cost associated with these improvements. The technology required to continually increase the efficiency of gasoline and diesel engines is expensive to develop, as are the pollution controls necessary to keep emissions at an acceptable level. These costs are directly passed on to the consumer, and many car companies claim that stricter regulations could lead to car prices that the market is unwilling to bear.
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