Emission standards are the legal requirements governing air pollutants released into the atmosphere. Emission standards set quantitative limits on the permissible amount of specific air pollutants that may be released from specific sources over specific timeframes. They are generally designed to achieve air quality standards and to protect human life.
Regulated sources
Many emissions standards focus on regulating pollutants released by automobiles (motor cars) and other powered vehicles. Others regulate emissions from industry, power plants, small equipment such as lawn mowers and diesel generators, and other sources of air pollution.
The first automobile emissions standards were enacted in 1963 in the United States, mainly as a response to Los Angeles' smog problems.
Three years later Japan enacted their first emissions rules, followed
between 1970 and 1972 by Canada, Australia, and several European
nations. The early standards mainly concerned carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrocarbons (HC). Regulations on nitrogen oxide emissions (NOx) were introduced in the United States, Japan, and Canada in 1973 and 1974, with Sweden following in 1976 and the European Economic Community in 1977. These standards gradually grew more and more stringent but have never been unified.
There are largely three main sets of standards: United States,
Japanese, and European, with various markets mostly using these as their
base.
Sweden, Switzerland, and Australia had separate emissions standards for
many years but have since adopted the European standards. India, China,
and other newer markets have also begun enforcing vehicle emissions
standards (derived from the European requirements) in the twenty-first
century, as growing vehicle fleets have given rise to severe air quality
problems there, too.
Vehicle emission performance standard
An emission performance standard is a limit that sets thresholds above which a different type of vehicle emissions control technology might be needed. While emission performance standards have been used to dictate limits for conventional pollutants such as oxides of nitrogen and oxides of sulphur (NOx and SOx),[3] this regulatory technique may be used to regulate greenhouse gasses, particularly carbon dioxide (CO2). In the US, this is given in pounds of carbon dioxide per megawatt-hour (lbs. CO2/MWhr), and kilograms CO2/MWhr elsewhere.
North America
Canada
In Canada,
the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA 1999) transfers
the legislative authority for regulating emissions from on-road vehicles
and engines to Environment Canada
from Transport Canada's Motor Vehicle Safety Act.
The Regulations align emission standards with the U.S. federal standards
and apply to light-duty vehicles (e.g., passenger cars), light-duty
trucks (e.g., vans, pickup trucks, sport utility vehicles), heavy-duty
vehicles (e.g., trucks and buses), heavy-duty engines and motorcycles.
United States of America
The United States has its own set of emissions standards that all new vehicles must meet. In the United States, emissions standards are managed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Under federal law, the state of California
is allowed to promulgate more stringent vehicle emissions standards
(subject to EPA approval), and other states may choose to follow either
the national or California standards. California had produced air
quality standards prior to EPA, with severe air quality problems in the Los Angeles
metropolitan area. LA is the country's second-largest city, and relies
much more heavily on automobiles and has less favorable meteorological
conditions than the largest and third-largest cities (New York and
Chicago).
California's emissions standards are set by the California Air Resources Board, known locally by its acronym "CARB". By mid-2009, 16 other states had adopted CARB rules;
given the size of the California market plus these other states, many
manufacturers choose to build to the CARB standard when selling in all
50 states. CARB's policies have also influenced EU emissions standards.
California is attempting to regulate greenhouse gas
emissions from automobiles, but faces a court challenge from the
federal government. The states are also attempting to compel the
federal EPA to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, which as of 2007 it has declined to do. On May 19, 2009 news reports indicate that the Federal EPA will largely adopt California's standards on greenhouse gas emissions.
California and several other western states have passed bills requiring performance-based regulation of greenhouse gases from electricity generation.
In an effort to decrease emissions from heavy-duty diesel engines faster, the California Air Resources Board's Carl Moyer Program funds upgrades that are in advance of regulations.
The California ARB standard for light vehicle emissions is a
regulation of equipment first, with verification of emissions second.
The property owner of the vehicle is not permitted to modify, improve,
or innovate solutions in order to pass a true emissions-only standard
set for their vehicle. Therefore, California's attempt at regulation of
emissions is a regulation of equipment, not of air quality. This form of
regulation prevents vehicle modifications that may assist in cheating
emissions tests, but it also prevents grassroots or creative individuals
from participating in the math, science, and engineering that could
lead to breakthroughs in this area of research. They are wholly excluded
from modifying their property in any way that has not been extensively
researched and approved by CARB.
The EPA has separate regulations for small engines, such as groundskeeping equipment. The states must also promulgate miscellaneous emissions regulations in order to comply with the National Ambient Air Quality Standards.
Europe
Before the European Union began streamlining emissions standards, there were several differing sets of rules. Members of the European Economic Community
(EEC) had a unified set of rules, considerably more lax than those of
the United States or Japan. These were tightened gradually, beginning on
cars of over two liters displacement as the price increase would have
less of an impact in this segment.
The ECE 15/05 norms (also known as the Luxemburg accord, strict enough
to essentially require catalytic converters) began taking effect
gradually: the initial step applied to cars of over 2000 cc in two
stages, in October 1988 and October 1989.
There followed cars between 1.4 and 2.0 liters, in October 1991 and
then October 1993. Cars of under 1400 cc had to meet two subsequent sets
of regulations that applied in October 1992 and October 1994
respectively.
French and Italian car manufacturers, strongly represented in the small
car category, had been lobbying heavily against these regulations
throughout the 1980s.
Within the EEC, Germany was a leader in regulating automobile
emissions. Germany gave financial incentives to buyers of cars that met
US or ECE standards, with lesser credits available to those that
partially fulfilled the requirements. These incentives had a strong
impact; only 6.5 percent of new cars registered in Germany in 1988 did
not meet any emissions requirements and 67.3 percent were compliant with
the strictest US or ECE standards.
Sweden was one of the first countries to instill stricter rules
(for 1975), placing severe limitations on the number of vehicles
available there. These standards also caused drivability problems and
steeply increased fuel consumption - in part because manufacturers could
not justify the expenditure to meet specific regulations that applied
only in one very small market. In 1982, the European Community calculated that the Swedish standards increased fuel consumption by 9 percent, while it made cars 2.5 percent more expensive.
For 1983 Switzerland (and then Australia) joined in the same set of
regulations, which gradually increased the number of certified engines.
One problem with the strict standards was that they did not account for
catalyzed engines, meaning that vehicles thus equipped had to have the
catalytic converters removed before they could be legally registered.
In 1985 the first catalyzed cars entered certain European markets
such as Germany. At first, the availability of unleaded petrol was
limited and sales were small. In Sweden, catalyzed vehicles became
allowed in 1987, benefitting from a tax rebate to boost sales.
By 1989 the Swiss/Swedish emissions rules were tightened to the point
that non-catalyzed cars were no longer able to be sold. In early 1989
the BMW Z1
was introduced, only available with catalyzed engines. This was a
problem in some places like Portugal, where unleaded fuel was still
almost non-existent, although European standards required unleaded
gasoline to be "available" in every country by 1 October 1989.
European Union
The European Union has its own set of emissions standards that all
new vehicles must meet. Currently, standards are set for all road
vehicles, trains, barges and 'nonroad mobile machinery' (such as
tractors). No standards apply to seagoing ships or airplanes.
EU Regulation No 443/2009 sets an average CO2
emissions target for new passenger cars of 130 grams per kilometre. The
target was gradually phased in between 2012 and 2015. A target of 95
grams per kilometre will apply from 2021.
For light commercial vehicle, an emissions target of 175 g/km applies from 2017, and 147 g/km from 2020, a reduction of 16%.
The EU introduced Euro 4 effective January 1, 2008, Euro 5
effective January 1, 2010 and Euro 6 effective January 1, 2014. These
dates had been postponed for two years to give oil refineries the
opportunity to modernize their plants.
UK
Several local authorities
in the UK have introduced Euro 4 or Euro 5 emissions standards for
taxis and licensed private hire vehicles to operate in their area.
Emissions tests on diesel cars have not been carried out during MOTs in Northern Ireland for 12 years, despite being legally required.
Germany
According
to the German federal automotive office 37.3% (15.4 million) cars in
Germany (total car population 41.3 million) conform to the Euro 4
standard from Jan 2009.
Asia
China
Due to rapidly expanding wealth and prosperity, the number of coal power plants
and cars on China's roads is rapidly growing, creating an ongoing
pollution problem. China enacted its first emissions controls on
automobiles in 2000, equivalent to Euro I standards. China's State
Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) upgraded emission
controls again on July 1, 2004 to the Euro II standard. More stringent emission standard, National Standard III, equivalent to Euro III standards, went into effect on July 1, 2007.
Plans were for Euro IV standards to take effect in 2010. Beijing
introduced the Euro IV standard in advance on January 1, 2008, becoming
the first city in mainland China to adopt this standard.
Hong Kong
From Jan 1, 2006, all new passenger cars with spark-ignition engines in Hong Kong
must meet either Euro IV petrol standard, Japanese Heisei 17 standard
or US EPA Tier 2 Bin 5 standard. For new passenger cars with
compression-ignition engines, they must meet US EPA Tier 2 Bin 5
standard.
India
Bharat stage emission standards are emission standards instituted by
the Government of India to regulate the output of air pollutants from
internal combustion engine equipment, including motor vehicles. The
standards and the timeline for implementation are set by the Central
Pollution Control Board under the Ministry of Environment & Forests.
The standards, based on European regulations were first
introduced in 2000. Progressively stringent norms have been rolled out
since then. All new vehicles manufactured after the implementation of
the norms have to be compliant with the regulations. By 2014, the
country was under a combination of Euro 3 and Euro 4-based norms, with
Euro 4 standards partly implemented in 13 major cities. Till April
2017, the entire country was under BS IV norms, which is based on Euro
4.
As of now manufacture and registration of BS IV vehicles has
started, by April 2020 all BS IV manufacturing will be mandatory,
respectively.
Japan
Background
Starting June 10, 1968, the Japanese Government passed the (Japanese: Air Pollution Control Act) which regulated all sources of air pollutants. As a result of the 1968 law, dispute resolutions were passed under the 1970 (Japanese: Air Pollution Dispute Resolution Act).
As a result of the 1970 law, in 1973 the first installment of four sets
of new emissions standards were introduced. Interim standards were
introduced on January 1, 1975 and again for 1976. The final set of
standards were introduced for 1978.
While the standards were introduced they were not made immediately
mandatory, instead tax breaks were offered for cars which passed them. The standards were based on those adopted by the original US Clean Air Act of 1970, but the test cycle included more slow city driving to correctly reflect the Japanese situation. The 1978 limits for mean emissions
during a "Hot Start Test" of CO, hydrocarbons, and NOx were 2.1 grams
per kilometre (3.38 g/mi) of CO, .25 grams per kilometre (0.40 g/mi) of
HC, and .25 grams per kilometre (0.40 g/mi) of NOx respectively.
Maximum limits are 2.7 grams per kilometre (4.35 g/mi) of CO, .39 grams
per kilometre (0.63 g/mi) of HC, and .48 grams per kilometre
(0.77 g/mi) of NOx. The "10 - 15 Mode Hot Cycle"
test, used to determine individual fuel economy ratings and emissions
observed from the vehicle being tested, use a specific testing regime.
In 1992, to cope with NOx pollution problems from existing
vehicle fleets in highly populated metropolitan areas, the Ministry of
the Environment adopted the "(Japanese: Law Concerning Special Measures to Reduce the Total Amount of Nitrogen Oxides Emitted from Motor Vehicles in Specified Areas)",
called in short The Motor Vehicle NOx Law. The regulation designated a
total of 196 communities in the Tokyo, Saitama, Kanagawa, Osaka and
Hyogo Prefectures as areas with significant air pollution due to
nitrogen oxides emitted from motor vehicles. Under the Law, several
measures had to be taken to control NOx from in-use vehicles, including
enforcing emission standards for specified vehicle categories.
The regulation was amended in June 2001 to tighten the existing
NOx requirements and to add PM control provisions. The amended rule is
called the "Law Concerning Special Measures to Reduce the Total Amount
of Nitrogen Oxides and Particulate Matter Emitted from Motor Vehicles in
Specified Areas", or in short the Automotive NOx and PM Law.
- Emission Standards
The NOx and PM Law introduces emission standards for specified
categories of in-use highway vehicles including commercial goods (cargo)
vehicles such as trucks and vans, buses, and special purpose motor
vehicles, irrespective of the fuel type. The regulation also applies to
diesel powered passenger cars (but not to gasoline cars).
In-use vehicles in the specified categories must meet 1997/98
emission standards for the respective new vehicle type (in the case of
heavy duty engines NOx = 4.5 g/kWh, PM = 0.25 g/kWh). In other words,
the 1997/98 new vehicle standards are retroactively applied to older
vehicles already on the road. Vehicle owners have two methods to comply:
- Replace old vehicles with newer, cleaner models
- Retrofit old vehicles with approved NOx and PM control devices
Vehicles have a grace period, between 8 and 12 years from the initial
registration, to comply. The grace period depends on the vehicle type,
as follows:
- Light commercial vehicles (GVW ≤ 2500 kg): 8 years
- Heavy commercial vehicles (GVW > 2500 kg): 9 years
- Micro buses (11-29 seats): 10 years
- Large buses (≥ 30 seats): 12 years
- Special vehicles (based on a cargo truck or bus): 10 years
- Diesel passenger cars: 9 years
Furthermore, the regulation allows fulfillment of its requirements to
be postponed by an additional 0.5-2.5 years, depending on the age of
the vehicle. This delay was introduced in part to harmonize the NOx and
PM Law with the Tokyo diesel retrofit program.
The NOx and PM Law is enforced in connection with Japanese
vehicle inspection program, where non-complying vehicles cannot undergo
the inspection in the designated areas. This, in turn, may trigger an
injunction on the vehicle operation under the Road Transport Vehicle
Law.
Israel
Since January 2012 vehicles which do not comply with Euro 6 emission values are not allowed to be imported to Israel.
Turkey
Diesel and gasoline sulphur content is regulated at 10ppm. Turkey currently follows Euro VI for heavy duty commercial vehicles,
and, in 2016 a couple of years after the EU, Turkey adopted Euro 6 for
new types of light duty vehicles (LDV) and new types of passenger cars. Turkey is planning to use the Worldwide harmonized light vehicles test procedure (WLTP).
However, despite these tailpipe emission standards for new vehicle types there are many older diesel vehicles, no low-emission zones and no national limit on PM2.5 particulates so local pollution, including from older vehicles, is still a major health risk in some cities, such as Ankara. Concentrations of PM2.5 are 41 µg/m3 in Turkey, making it the country with the worst air pollution in Europe. The regulation for testing of existing vehicle exhaust gases is Official Newspaper number 30004 published 11 March 2017.
An average of 135 g CO2/km for LDVs compared well with other countries in 2015, however unlike the EU there is no limit on carbon dioxide emissions.
Africa
South Africa
South
Africa's first clean fuels programme was implemented in 2006 with the
banning of lead from petrol and the reduction of sulphur levels in
diesel from 3 000 parts per million (ppm) to 500ppm, along with a niche
grade of 50ppm.
The Clean Fuels 2 standard, expected to begin in 2017, includes
the reduction of sulphur to 10ppm; the lowering of benzene from 5
percent to 1 percent of volume; the reduction of aromatics from 50
percent to 35 percent of volume; and the specification of olefins at 18
percent of volume.
Oceania
Australia
Australian
emission standards are based on European regulations for light-duty and
heavy-duty (heavy goods) vehicles, with acceptance of selected US and
Japanese standards. The current policy is to fully harmonize Australian
regulations with United Nations (UN) and Economic Commission for Europe
(ECE) standards. In November 2013, the first stage of the stringent Euro
5 emission standards for light vehicles was introduced, which includes
cars and light commercial vehicles.
The development of emission standards for highway vehicles and engines
is coordinated by the National Transport Commission (NTC) and the
regulations—Australian Design Rules (ADR)—are administered by the
Department of Infrastructure and Transport.
All new vehicles manufactured or sold in the country must comply
with the standards, which are tested by running the vehicle or engine in
a standardized test cycle.
