Transportation industry manufacturing groups call for cooperation on emissions and energy issues

Two transportation industry groups announced separate calls to action for cross-industry steps to address CO2 emissions and energy efficiency. Their announcements were as follows: Related to the first announcement, the Alliance for Automobile Manufacturers said that a national program to address CO2 emissions has become a priority to automakers because a national fuel economy program would allo...

January 1, 2010

Two transportation industry groups announced separate calls to action for cross-industry steps to address CO 2 emissions and energy efficiency. Their announcements were as follows:

  • The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers announced the launch of a new Web site called DrivingSustainability.com to focus on the need for an integrated, economy-wide approach to CO 2 reductions.

  • The world’s leading heavy-duty vehicle and engine manufacturing companies urged the close cooperation between policy makers in Europe, the United States and Japan to develop practical and effective fuel-efficiency measurement metrics, methodologies, and regulations which could then be used around the globe.

 

Dave McCurdy, president and CEO of the Alliance for Automobile Manufacturers focused on “sustainable mobility.”

Related to the first announcement, the Alliance for Automobile Manufacturers said that a national program to address CO 2 emissions has become a priority to automakers because a national fuel economy program would allow manufacturers to average sales nationwide, so customers in all 50 states can continue to buy the types of vehicles they need for family, business, and leisure.

The Alliance claims that a national program would also help avoid conflicting standards from different regulatory agencies, and give automakers the certainty needed for long-term product planning. The result would be overall greenhouse gas reductions equal to or better than those that would be realized under separate programs by different regulatory bodies, says a spokesman.

“We will need to use every engineer we have and every investment dollar available to make our vision of sustainable mobility a reality,” said Dave McCurdy, president and CEO of the Alliance for Automobile Manufacturers. “And, we are going to need Americans to buy our clean, fuel-efficient autos in large numbers in order to meet this climate change commitment.”

Elsewhere in the world, more than a dozen chief executives of the global commercial vehicle industry, including Caterpillar, Cummins, Daimler, Hino, Isuzu, Iveco, Mack, MAN, Mitsubishi Fuso, Navistar, Nissan Diesel, Scania, Volvo, and Volkswagen, met to discuss the issues of climate change and global energy security, but also covered global air quality-related emissions standards, improved fuel quality, and specifications for renewable fuels.

During this meeting, the executives discussed how the global harmonization of technical standards affecting heavy-duty engines and vehicles could further improve environmental performance and road freight movement efficiency.

Among the key topics addressed at the meeting were: ongoing activities in Japan, U.S., and EU on fuel efficiency of heavy-duty vehicles; progress in developing a globally accepted method for the certification of heavy-duty hybrid electric vehicles; the use of computer simulations to evaluate fuel efficiency of the diverse commercial vehicle configurations and usage; and the positive outcome of the UNECE (United Nations Economic Commission for Europe) efforts in establishing a global technical regulation for gaseous emissions testing of heavy-duty engines.

As a result of the meeting, the executives agreed to initiate through the International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers a proposal to UNECE to develop a certification procedure for heavy-duty hybrid electric vehicles and to ask UNECE to address this issue with urgency.

In relation to exhaust emission requirements, the manufacturers also agreed to recommend the introduction of legislative requirements regarding market fuels to ensure that the appropriate, high-quality fossil and renewable fuels are globally available for today’s vehicle technologies. The commercial vehicle industry says it plans to work with the oil industry to underline the importance of this issue and ensure a constructive dialogue.