Improving Air Quality in Delhi: Lessons Learned in the United States

(Diesel Technology Forum) This month’s 10-year anniversary of the United States-India Partnership highlights shared strategies for advancing economic opportunity and collaborating on climate change and clean air. Transportation fuels and vehicle technology - particularly diesel engines - are key aspects of the solution.

Over the last decade, we have learned important lessons on air pollution and energy and the role of vehicle technologies and fuels in the U.S. The first is that air pollution is a complex mixture of many sources so it is important to understand the emissions inventory prior to developing control plans that only single out one technology.

Second, governments do best when they let customers and the market make the choices. There is consensus that gasoline and diesel will still dominate the vehicle market in 2030 and beyond because they continue to improve and deliver economic and practical benefits for customers and society. Continued incremental improvements in gasoline and diesel are expected that will lower emissions and reduce fuel consumption. No matter how small the gain, societal benefits are large and accrue quickly as consumers invest in any new technology, like clean diesel, in large numbers. Alternative technologies often promise a lot but under deliver, aren’t ready for prime time, or simply remain a niche, not a mainstream technology.

Getting more new engines rapidly into trucks, buses and private autos will provide the quickest path to reducing emissions and meeting clean air goals while also improving safety and saving money for consumers and businesses. Here in the U.S. about 36 percent of all commercial trucks are 2007 and newer. Limiting operation of older technology vehicles is a strategy used both in Delhi and California. Commercial trucks in California by 2023 must all have at least a 2010 or newer engine, which is near zero emissions for particulate matter and oxides of nitrogen.

For the last two years in the U.S. the American Lung Association has highlighted the important role of cleaner diesel fleets in progress toward meeting cleaner air goals. Progressively more stringent new engine emissions standards were implemented for both on road and off road engines and vehicles over a timeline that began in 2000. Meeting more stringent standards has been made possible by a government that takes a technology-neutral approach and provides adequate lead-time and regulatory stability.

Fuels are a vital component. A simple change to reduce sulfur in diesel fuel in the U.S. immediately reduced particulate emissions by about 10 percent from all vehicles and helped meet national clean air goals. It also enabled the use of advanced emissions controls like particulate filters and catalytic systems that virtually eliminate emissions of nitrogen oxides. It would take 60 of today’s heavy heavy-duty diesel trucks to equal the emissions of one truck built a decade ago.

Both the U.S. and India want to achieve cleaner air through reducing emissions without impacting mobility or economic opportunity. At the same time, reducing greenhouse gas emissions to address global climate change is a new priority. Addressing these future challenges today requires investments in a range of technologies - ones that are near zero emissions, can use low-carbon renewable fuels, and are available and affordable. New technology clean diesel engines are one of the few that can meet all these requirements and must be a key part of the solution. READ MORE