Figure 1. Overview of supplementary financial support measures along LEZs/ZEZs targeted at private individuals and businesses in most financial need covered in this paper.

The findings highlight that these supplementary financial measures vary between cities, with aid amounts depending on the specific support measures, types of vehicles, and beneficiaries. Such measures aim to enhance equitable outcomes for LEZs and ZEZs, with positive effects observed in cities like Brussels and London, particularly among households in the lowest income brackets and in areas with higher levels of multiple deprivation. These case studies can serve as examples for other cities looking to implement similar zones while ensuring social equity and inclusion for all.

The post Low- and zero-emission zones and social equity: Supporting the urban transition to zero-emission vehicles and alternative transport modes appeared first on International Council on Clean Transportation.

The post Yini Liu appeared first on International Council on Clean Transportation.

The study finds that legal frameworks at the national level can allow cities to establish enforceable low- and zero-emission zones. However, even without a national framework, cities can establish such zones by using local and regional laws and voluntary pilot projects.

Careful design and implementation of these zones can improve equity. Exemptions and financial incentives targeting impacted communities and small businesses could enable an equitable transition. Pilot projects with an equity focus can raise public awareness and support before fully implementing a low- or zero-emission zone.

Public communication and consultation are critical in every stage of planning and implementation of low- and zero-emission zones. To ensure public support and address concerns, cities have worked with experts, local organizations, and businesses to raise awareness about their benefits. Measuring and publishing data on pollution from internal combustion engine vehicles can illustrate the potential health benefits of zero-emission zones.

*This paper was updated on 17 November 2023 to clarify details related to plans and goals for Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

The post Planning and implementation of low- and zero-emission zones in cities appeared first on International Council on Clean Transportation.

In November 2022, the European Commission unveiled its proposal for Euro 7, revising the current Euro 6 and Euro VI pollutant emissions standards for light- and heavy-duty vehicles. The proposed emission limits and testing procedures are less stringent than the recommendations of the impact assessment submitted to the European Commission, particularly in the case of light-duty vehicles. Regardless, the automotive industry and some EU Member States contend that the proposal is overly ambitious.

This briefing offers an international perspective to the discussion by comparing the stringency of the proposed emission limits and test conditions with their counterparts in the United States and China. With some preceding analyses, the author translated Euro 7, U.S. Tier 3 final, and China 6b emission limit values into comparable units for light-duty vehicles. This comparison shows the following:

• The combined NOx+NMHC limit put forth by the European Commission for Euro 7 light-duty vehicles of 128 mg/km is 2.9 times weaker than the U.S. Tier 3 final limit. Unlike for Euro 7, the U.S. standards do not require emission compliance demonstration in real-driving tests. Instead, more demanding laboratory tests are performed.  

• China 6b is more than 1.8 times more stringent for cars and 1.2 times more stringent for large vans than the Euro 7 proposal, with both regulations requiring emissions compliance demonstration in the laboratory and during real driving.  

The text concludes that the Euro 7 proposal does not tighten the emission limits to match those in the United States and China. The proposed Euro 7 regulation still includes important provisions that would lead to modest emission reductions. Still, for Euro 7 to successfully drive cost-effective technologies to the market, it is advisable to consider NOx emission limits akin to those found in other jurisdictions and to preserve all elements included in the Euro 7 proposal.

The post The stringency of the proposed Euro 7 regulation for cars and vans: An international comparison appeared first on International Council on Clean Transportation.

The post Vaibhav Kush appeared first on International Council on Clean Transportation.

The experiences of these cities provide valuable lessons on how to boost NECV adoption in China and elsewhere. Among the recommendations: Consider putting additional requirements on vehicle owners and users to qualify for government fiscal or other support. The review also found that central policies were the main driver for the adoption of new energy medium- and heavy-duty vehicles (M&HDVs). Thus, China could look at further encouraging local policies to accelerate the uptake of these vehicles.

The table below shows six categories of incentives and how their implementation varied by city. Six of the highlighted cities participated in a national Green Freight Initiative program to promote more new energy urban logistics vehicles. These cities, on average, had 13 times the registrations and 4 times the market share of non-Green Freight cities in terms of newly registered new energy urban logistics vehicles in 2020.

Table. Overview of NECV policy and incentive by city, 2020

The post Accelerating new energy vehicle uptake in Chinese cities: Assessment of new energy commercial vehicle policies appeared first on International Council on Clean Transportation.

The post Hamilton Steimer appeared first on International Council on Clean Transportation.

The post Jakob Schmidt appeared first on International Council on Clean Transportation.

Electric vehicle sales in Europe increased 66% in 2021 from 2020, reaching 2.3 million. Forty out of 48 metropolitan regions achieved greater EV shares than the European average of 19%. Seven metropolitan regions with more than twice the European average EV share are in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. Southern and Central European regions had lower EV shares than the European average. Electric vehicle shares doubled in Italian, Polish, and Spanish cities from 2020 to 2021, but these countries’ EV shares remained well below the EU average. Amsterdam (31%), London (22%), Oslo (89%), and Paris (20%) reached higher levels of EV penetration than their national average in 2021.

Public chargers in Europe rose to almost 400,000 in 2021, measuring 53% growth from 2020. However, significant disparities remain among the 48 metropolitan regions studied. Norway and the Netherlands have higher public charger densities correlated with their EV shares. Amsterdam and Utrecht also have a large share of normal AC public chargers (98%), with the lowest ratio of EVs per public charger.

National and local governments in Europe have adopted policies intended to spur the deployment of EVs and charging infrastructure. A growing number of governments have set 100% zero-emission vehicle sales targets. Purchase subsidies at the national and local levels reduce the cost of buying EVs among early adopters. Rolling out public charging infrastructure can increase convenience and remedy range anxiety, especially before the EV market matures. As of June 2022, ten European cities plan to implement zero-emission zones by 2030, restricting access to polluting vehicles to designated zones in metropolitan regions. Paris plans to extend its city-wide low-emission zone to a zero-emission zone by 2030, affecting all vehicle types. Although most cities are in the initial stages of planning, the growth in EV shares in these cities indicate that these policies could potentially accelerate transportation electrification.

The post Battery electric and plug-in hybrid vehicle uptake in European cities appeared first on International Council on Clean Transportation.

Different from 2015, the analysis finds that purchase subsidy was no longer the main incentive in 2020. This was certainly influenced by central government guidance to shift away from purchase subsidies and toward use-phase incentives. As shown in the figure below, preferential access to vehicle license plates provided the most consumer benefit in 2020 in those cities that had a limit on the annual number of license plates for conventional fuel vehicles. Use-phase incentives such as parking fee reduction and government support for public charger availability also brought substantial benefits. Notably, cities continued to improve public charging infrastructure availability while actively addressing different challenges and needs, including infrastructure for existing multi-unit dwellings. Going forward, the authors suggest that cities set specific and actionable targets and design matching policies to achieve them, as this would help to facilitate better implementation.

Figure. Monetized private consumer benefits from city incentives for the three selected models in 2020.

The post Accelerating new energy vehicle uptake in Chinese cities: Assessment of policies for private passenger cars in leading city markets appeared first on International Council on Clean Transportation.