Climate & Clean Air Coalition - International Council on Clean Transportation

The Climate & Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) is a voluntary partnership of governments, intergovernmental organizations, businesses, scientific institutions, and civil society organizations committed to protecting the climate and improving air quality through actions to reduce short-lived climate pollutants. The CCAC network includes hundreds of partners and local actors carrying out activities across several economic sectors. ICCT participates in CCAC activities by providing unbiased research and policy analyses for governments and environmental regulators to utilize when creating environmental and transportation regulations.

The Issue

Black carbon and other fine particles

The transportation sector is a major contributor to black carbon emissions and was responsible for 19% of global black carbon emissions in 2000, contributing to 3.2 million deaths per year. Recent research has identified diesel vehicles and engines as one of the most attractive sectors for black carbon mitigation. Fine particles and black carbon from diesel vehicles and engines can be virtually eliminated through technologies that are present on half of all new heavy-duty vehicles sold today. The Coalition’s Heavy-Duty Diesel Vehicles and Engines Initiative works to catalyze major reductions in black carbon through the adoption of clean fuel and vehicle regulations and supporting policies. Efforts focus on diesel engines in all economic sectors.

Our Method

Spearhead soot-free

Diesel engines are responsible for significant health and climate impacts in the transportation sector. A leapfrog to soot-free engines equivalent to Euro 6/VI or US 2010, coupled with fuels containing no greater than 10 parts per million sulfur, would require diesel engines to use a diesel particulate filter that effectively eliminates the fine particle and black carbon emissions responsible for the vast majority of these impacts. The CCAC Soot-Free Urban Bus Fleets project works towards soot-free engine technologies in 20 major cities, home to a combined 234 million people, in order to prevent 3,700 early deaths and up to 6.6 MMT CO₂e by 2030.

Strategize for success

Roughly half of new and existing heavy-duty diesel vehicles are currently subject to world-class emission standards with diesel particle filters. CCAC aims to ensure that the remainder of the unregulated or inadequately regulated global diesel fleet will achieve the same. Our target is to reach 10 ppm sulfur in fuels by 2025 globally, while at the same time also supporting the introduction of vehicles emissions standards and contributing to the goals of the Coalition.