Abstract
Natural gas vehicles (NGVs) have been promoted in China to mitigate air pollution, yet our measurements and analyses show that NGV growth in China may have significant negative impacts on climate change. We conducted real-world vehicle emission measurements in China and found high methane emissions from heavy-duty NGVs (90% higher than current emission limits). These emissions have been ignored in previous emission estimates, leading to biased results. Applying our observations to life-cycle analyses, we found that switching to NGVs from conventional vehicles in China has led to a net increase in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions since 2000. With scenario analyses, we also show that the next decade will be critical for China to reverse the trend with the upcoming China VI standard for heavy-duty vehicles. Implementing and enforcing the China VI standard is challenging, and the method demonstrated here can provide critical information regarding the fleet-level CH4 emissions from NGVs.
Highlights
Natural gas vehicles (NGVs) have been promoted in China to mitigate air pollution, yet our measurements and analyses show that NGV growth in China may have significant negative impacts on climate change
Our results show that CH4 emissions from heavy-duty NGVs were high and switching to NGVs from conventional vehicles in China has led to a net increase of 77 Mt CO2eq from 2000–2017
Comparing the cumulative WTW greenhouse gas (GHG) changes between the high- and the low-emission scenarios, we find that stringently enforcing the China VI standard for heavy-duty vehicles could generate a GHG reduction of 509 Mt CO2eq for 2020– 2030, NG consumption CH4 emissions (Mt/yr)
Summary
Natural gas vehicles (NGVs) have been promoted in China to mitigate air pollution, yet our measurements and analyses show that NGV growth in China may have significant negative impacts on climate change. We conducted real-world vehicle emission measurements in China and found high methane emissions from heavy-duty NGVs (90% higher than current emission limits). These emissions have been ignored in previous emission estimates, leading to biased results. Implementing and enforcing the China VI standard is challenging, and the method demonstrated here can provide critical information regarding the fleet-level CH4 emissions from NGVs. 1234567890():,; From 2000 to 2017, the population of natural gas vehicles (NGVs) in China increased from 6000 to 6.08 million (Fig. 1 and Supplementary Table 1)[1]. 1234567890():,; From 2000 to 2017, the population of natural gas vehicles (NGVs) in China increased from 6000 to 6.08 million (Fig. 1 and Supplementary Table 1)[1]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary 
Published Version (
Free)
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call