sectoral economic costs and benefits of ghg mitigation - IPCC

Seth Dunn
Table 2
Policies for Innovation in Automotive Fuels and Technologies
Regulations and Incentives
• Requirements for manufacturers (emissions standards, efficiency standards, new
vehicle mandates) and purchasers (government procurement)
• Incentives for manufacturers (production subsidies) and purchasers (taxes, purchase
subsidies, feebates)
• Programs combining these measures
Production Goals and Efforts
• National production goals
• Agreements with and/or voluntary production commitments from industry
Infrastructure and Demonstration Projects
• Development of infrastructure (recharging stations, refueling stations, service
stations)
• Small- and large-scale demonstration programs to establish feasibility, increase
manufacturer confidence, and improve consumer acceptability (advanced transport
consortia)
Research and Development
• Research and development to discover, identify, and develop the most advanced
fuels and vehicles
International Cooperation
• Efforts with other national governments
• Support of international-level discussions
Source: NRDC.
Fuel Price Reform
In general, the authors found gasoline prices to be a major limiting factor for the introduction of
advanced fuels and vehicles. While several nations had recently increased prices, mostly in
Europe and Japan, tax differentials remained large in magnitude and approach.
Efficiency Standards
In many of the industrialized nations surveyed, efficiency standards have changed little or even
been lowered since the oil shocks of the 1970s. Efforts to improve efficiency standards have
often been opposed by auto industry members concerned that such standards would not be
applied in other regions of the world.
Mandates
Government mandates have been the driving force worldwide toward advanced fuels and
vehicles. At the subnational level, the state of California’s Zero Emissions Vehicle (ZEV)
mandate has served as the impetus for efforts to develop electric and non-polluting cars. Despite
the mandate’s subsequent weakening, it remains an important technology-forcing mechanism to
ensure that the industry focus not merely on incremental improvements of existing technologies,
but also on more advanced and far cleaner innovations for which significant consumer demand
may emerge.
Incentives
The greatest area of activity has been in providing incentives to investments in advanced fuels
and vehicles. These cover traditional areas, such as tax deductions and subsidies, as well as
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