Leading car manufacturers in India are expanding their fleets of alternative fuel vehicles to cash in on increased availability of compressed natural gas and to meet stricter emissions standards and increasing demand for cars that run on cheaper, more environmentally friendly fuels.
Ending months of talks with industry and consumers, Prime Minister Taro Aso announced on June 10th that Japan will strive to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions 15 percent from 2005 levels by 2020. The mid-term target represents an 8 percent cut in emissions from levels in 1990, the benchmark year used in the Kyoto Protocol.
Making good on U.S. President Barack Obama's promise to accelerate the greening of the federal fleet, the U.S. General Services Administration has ordered 14,105 fuel efficient vehicles this month and will use $210 million in Recovery Act money to pay for them.
The average emissions from new cars registered in the EU in 2007 amounted to 158g CO2/km, 15.1% below the 1995 starting point of 186 g CO2/km7. The emission level dropped by 1.23% from 2004 to 2005, by 0.6% from 2005 to 2006 and by 1.25% from 2006 to 2007. The EU25 average mass in 2005 was 1357kg, 1372 kg in 2006 and 1382kg in 2007 (1380kg for the EU-27).
A directive from the Indian petroleum ministry banning the sale of biodiesel as transportation fuel directly to consumers has forced several manufacturers, already squeezed by a pricing cap, to slow production.
The US Environmental Protection Agency released its expected Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) detailing the implementation of changes to the existing Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS1) as required by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA).
