 October - December 2000 
Developing
Domestic Climate-Change Policies: Conference Report: [e-lab Home Page] [Energy Lab Home Page] [MIT Home Page] .
Developing
Domestic Climate-Change Policies:
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October - December 2000
Developing
Domestic Climate-Change Policies: Conference Report: [e-lab Home Page] [Energy Lab Home Page] [MIT Home Page] .
Developing
Domestic Climate-Change Policies:
|
eveloping international agreements to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions is proving difficult, but developing national policies to
fulfill those agreements may be even harder. An Energy Laboratory case
study suggests some factors that may interfere. The study focuses on
Norway, where controversy is raging over the proposed construction of
two natural gas-fired power plants. Proponents argue that the plants
could fulfill Norway's growing electricity demand while reducing emissions
in the broader Scandinavian region. Exports from the new plants could
enable Norway's trading partners to shut down older, dirtier plants-perhaps
the least-expensive means for Norway to meet its Kyoto emissions-reduction
target. Opponents of the plants do not accept either the regional perspective
or the economic argument. They believe that Norway itself has a moral
obligation to protect nature. It must therefore cut domestic demand
and use clean technologies, regardless of cost. Proponents of the plants-a
powerful coalition of political and industrial leaders-now have the
upper hand; but the controversy continues, blocking progress on all
fronts. Environmental leaders in other countries should take note: to
succeed, they must understand not only the energy and environmental
needs and goals of their country but also social values, economic forces,
and political alliances that may profoundly influence the decisionmaking
process.
n July 2000, an Energy Laboratory symposium of scientists, regulators,
and industry and public interest representatives discussed scientific
challenges posed by diesel engines and fuels. A key message was: Do
not underestimate the importance of diesels to our economic and social
well-being. Diesels power trucks, buses, construction equipment, locomotives,
and ships; and they are a fuel-efficient, low-carbon-dioxide transportation
option for the future-if their emissions of particulates and nitrogen
oxides (NOx) can be reduced. Meeting new, stringent regulations on diesel
emissions will be difficult. According to engine experts, reengineering
the diesel engine to reduce the formation of both particulate matter
and NOx is tricky because steps to decrease one pollutant tend to increase
another. Diesel aftertreatment devices that remove pollutants are needed
to meet the regulations for 2007. Such devices are in development, but
they are "poisoned" by sulfur in today's diesel fuel. Regulations
calling for substantially reduced fuel sulfur by 2007 were hotly debated.
Vehicle engine manufacturers argued that the mandated level of 15 parts
per million (ppm) is not low enough to "enable" current NOx
aftertreatment technologies. Fuel manufacturers called for controls
set at 50 ppm and claimed that the cost of achieving the lower sulfur
level of 15 ppm could force some refineries out of business and cause
diesel fuel shortages leading to price spikes. Other discussions at
the symposium focused on designing more conclusive epidemiological studies,
clarifying the mechanisms by which diesel exhaust or its constituents
harm health, and gathering better data on emissions from operating vehicles
and on pollutants in the air, notably the fine particulates now thought
to be especially harmful. Continuing information exchanges among experts
in different fields will help produce practical, cost-effective strategies
for cleaning up diesels, thereby ensuring that these powerful, reliable,
and efficient engines are also environmentally sound. 
fter two years of assessing possible new automotive technologies, Dr.
Malcolm Weiss of the Energy Laboratory and Professor John Heywood of
the Department of Mechanical Engineering still don't know what the winner
will be in 2020. The good news is that hard work on conventional technologies
should produce an "evolved" passenger car with dramatically
higher fuel economy and lower greenhouse gas emissions compared to today's
models.