Tab Article
This book evaluates the current worldwide state of knowledge about the interrelationship between emissions and air quality. This study describes the contribution of passenger car and commercial vehicle traffic to local and global emission situations, and the consequences for the environment.
With the objective of questioning the public perception that air pollution is almost exclusively caused by road traffic, the authors show that the contribution of road traffic to emissions with global air quality effects is very small.
Lenz and Cozzarini present statistics such as: Worldwide passenger car and commercial vehicle traffic contribute 0.5% to total carbon dioxide emissions; Methane emissions from road traffic are so marginal that their contribution to the greenhouse effect can be disregarded; Passenger car and heavy-duty vehicle traffic each contribute 1.6% to the total anthropogenic emissions of nitrous oxide; and Road traffic contributes only about 1% to non-methane hydrocarbon emissions.
Emissions and Air Quality also highlights the important role that modified fuels can play in reducing particulate matter emissions. The book concludes by pointing out that emission reduction is not solely a technical challenge for the automobile and oil industries, but that an important contribution can also be made by vehicle users and intelligent traffic management.
