Year: 2001

Publication type: Studies

Public files

The systemic approach is the conceptualization of existing scientific evidence that shows that the origin of vehicle emissions is the result of the interaction among (1) the fuel used by (2) vehicles with a certain technology under (3) certain conditions of use (traffic). This approach reveals that facing the problem of emissions by focusing only on one of these three factors, does not allow to develop a cost/effective system of urban air quality management.

Assuming that the main air pollution problem in Latin America and the Caribbean is the result of vehicle emissions, this report shows that the largest reduction of these can be achieved by promoting the widespread use of vehicles with state-of-the-art emission control technologies, using the fuel specifications suggested for the Region for the year 2005, which include the Lead phase-out from gasolines. It is also shown that an adequate management of traffic produces enormous environmental benefits by greatly reducing vehicle emissions. On the other hand, an aggressive reformulation of present day fuels only has a minimal impact on emissions reduction.