Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Brief Communication
  • Published:

Re-evaluating effectiveness of vehicle emission control programmes targeting high-emitters

Nature Sustainability volume 3, pages 904–907 (2020)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Estimating emission distribution within a vehicle fleet is critical for air pollution control. Previous studies reported that more than half of total fleet emissions were produced by only the highest 10% emitters, making repairing or deregistering a small percentage of high-emitters the most cost-effective measure to control vehicle emissions. With diesel emissions data from chassis dynamometer testing and on-road remote sensing, we show that such a strategy may be oversimplified.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Fig. 1: Distributions of instantaneous emission factors (EFs) measured by remote sensing and chassis dynamometer.
Fig. 2: Emission contribution by the dirtiest 10% emitters of Euro 3–5 diesel light goods vehicles (<3.5 t).

Similar content being viewed by others

Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding authors upon request.

References

  1. Grange, S. K., Lewis, A. C., Moller, S. J. & Carslaw, D. C. Lower vehicular primary emissions of NO2 in Europe than assumed in policy projections. Nat. Geosci. 10, 914–918 (2017).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Huang, Y. et al. Tackling nitric oxide emissions from dominant diesel vehicle models using on-road remote sensing technology. Environ. Pollut. 243, 1177–1185 (2018).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Anenberg, S. C. et al. Impacts and mitigation of excess diesel-related NOx emissions in 11 major vehicle markets. Nature 545, 467–471 (2017).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Huang, Y. et al. Eco-driving technology for sustainable road transport: a review. Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev. 93, 596–609 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Beaton, S. P. et al. On-road vehicle emissions: regulations, costs, and benefits. Science 268, 991–993 (1995).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Popp, P. J., Bishop, G. A. & Stedman, D. H. Development of a high-speed ultraviolet spectrometer for remote sensing of mobile source nitric oxide emissions. J. Air Waste Manag. Assoc. 49, 1463–1468 (1999).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Guenther, P. L., Bishop, G. A., Peterson, J. E. & Stedman, D. H. Emissions from 200 000 vehicles: a remote sensing study. Sci. Total Environ. 146, 297–302 (1994).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Bishop, G. A. et al. Drive-by motor vehicle emissions: immediate feedback in reducing air pollution. Environ. Sci. Technol. 34, 1110–1116 (2000).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Mazzoleni, C. et al. On-road vehicle particulate matter and gaseous emission distributions in Las Vegas, Nevada, compared with other areas. J. Air Waste Manag. Assoc. 54, 711–726 (2004).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Bishop, G. A., Schuchmann, B. G., Stedman, D. H. & Lawson, D. R. Multispecies remote sensing measurements of vehicle emissions on Sherman Way in Van Nuys, California. J. Air Waste Manag. Assoc. 62, 1127–1133 (2012).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Lau, J., Hung, W. T. & Cheung, C. S. Observation of increases in emission from modern vehicles over time in Hong Kong using remote sensing. Environ. Pollut. 163, 14–23 (2012).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Huang, Y. et al. Emission measurement of diesel vehicles in Hong Kong through on-road remote sensing: performance review and identification of high-emitters. Environ. Pollut. 237, 133–142 (2018).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Xie, S. et al. On-road remote sensing of vehicle exhaust emissions in Auckland, New Zealand. Clean. Air Environ. Qual. 39, 37–42 (2005).

    Google Scholar 

  14. Bishop, G. A., Stedman, D. H. & Ashbaugh, L. Motor vehicle emissions variability. J. Air Waste Manag. Assoc. 46, 667–675 (1996).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Huang, Y. et al. Remote sensing of on-road vehicle emissions: mechanism, applications and a case study from Hong Kong. Atmos. Environ. 182, 58–74 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Mendoza-Villafuerte, P. et al. NOx, NH3, N2O and PN real driving emissions from a Euro VI heavy-duty vehicle. Impact of regulatory on-road test conditions on emissions. Sci. Total Environ. 609, 546–555 (2017).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Rašić, D. et al. RDE-based assessment of a factory bi-fuel CNG/gasoline light-duty vehicle. Atmos. Environ. 167, 523–541 (2017).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Walsh, P. A. et al. Comparison of auto emission measurement techniques. Sci. Total Environ. 189, 175–180 (1996).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Mazzoleni, C. et al. Correlation between automotive CO, HC, NO, and PM emission factors from on-road remote sensing: implications for inspection and maintenance programs. Transp. Res. D 9, 477–496 (2004).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Smit, R. & Kennedy, D. Measuring on-road vehicle hot running NOx emissions with a combined remote sensing–dynamometer study. Atmosphere 11, 294 (2020).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Lawson, D. R. et al. Emissions from lit-use motor vehicles in Los Angeles: A pilot study of remote sensing and the inspection and maintenance program. J. Air Waste Manag. Assoc. 40, 1096–1105 (1990).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Borken-Kleefeld, J. et al. Comparing emission rates derived from remote sensing with PEMS and chassis dynamometer tests - CONOX Task 1 report (IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute, 2018).

  23. Borken-Kleefeld, J. & Dallmann, T. Remote sensing of motor vehicle exhaust emissions (The International Council on Clean Transportation, 2018).

  24. Jiménez-Palacios, J. L. Understanding and quantifying motor vehicle emissions with vehicle specific power and TILDAS remote sensing (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1999).

  25. UNECE. Regulation No 83 of the Economic Commission for Europe of the United Nations (UNECE) - Uniform provisions concerning the approval of vehicles with regard to the emission of pollutants according to engine fuel requirements [2015/1038]. Off. J. Eur. Union 172, 1–249 (2015).

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank the Hong Kong Environmental Protection Department for providing the chassis dynamometer testing and remote sensing data used in this study. The contents of this paper are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent official views of the Hong Kong SAR Government.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Green Technology, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, New South Wales, Australia

    Yuhan Huang, Nic C. Surawski, John L. Zhou, Bruce Organ & Edward F. C. Chan

  2. Environmental Protection Department, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, Hong Kong, China

    Yat-Shing Yam & Casey K. C. Lee

  3. Jockey Club Heavy Vehicle Emissions Testing and Research Centre, Vocational Training Council, Hong Kong, China

    Bruce Organ

  4. Faculty of Science and Technology, Technological and Higher Education Institute of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China

    Edward F. C. Chan

Authors
  1. Yuhan Huang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Nic C. Surawski
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Yat-Shing Yam
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Casey K. C. Lee
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. John L. Zhou
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Bruce Organ
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Edward F. C. Chan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

Y.-S.Y. suggested undertaking this study of correcting the skewness of vehicle emission distribution concluded from remote sensing studies. Y.H. completed the analysis and wrote the manuscript. All authors discussed the results and commented on the manuscript.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Yuhan Huang or John L. Zhou.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Supplementary information

Supplementary Information

Supplementary methods, discussion, Figs. 1–4, Tables 1–5 and references.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Huang, Y., Surawski, N.C., Yam, YS. et al. Re-evaluating effectiveness of vehicle emission control programmes targeting high-emitters. Nat Sustain 3, 904–907 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-020-0573-y

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-020-0573-y

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing Anthropocene

Sign up for the Nature Briefing: Anthropocene newsletter — what matters in anthropocene research, free to your inbox weekly.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing: Anthropocene