article thumbnail

MIT study finds fuel economy standards are 6-14 times less cost effective than fuel tax for reducing gasoline use

Green Car Congress

In a study published in the journal Energy Economics , MIT researchers have found that a fuel economy standard is at least six to fourteen times less cost effective than a fuel tax when targeting an identical reduction in cumulative gasoline use (20% by 2050). —Karplus et al.

article thumbnail

MIT/UC Davis professors challenge claims that ethanol production decreased gasoline prices in 2010 and 2011

Green Car Congress

Knittel/Smith results for implied gasoline price effects from elimination of ethanol for 2010 using Du/Hayes model and pooled-sample estimates. Christopher Knittel at MIT and Assoc. We encourage similar skepticism about the estimated effect of ethanol on gasoline prices generated from these models. Click to enlarge.

Davis 334
article thumbnail

MIT study finds significant economic and environmental benefits from designing US LDVs to use higher octane gasoline (98 RON)

Green Car Congress

In a companion study to an SAE paper presented in April ( earlier post ), researchers at MIT have quantified the net economic and CO 2 emissions benefit that could be obtained by utilizing 98 RON gasoline in light-duty vehicles, based on reasonable assumptions for possible refinery changes and the evolution of the LDV fleet.

Gasoline 230
article thumbnail

MIT, Ford researchers find lightweight conventional vehicles could have lower lifecycle GHG impact than EVs depending upon location

Green Car Congress

Researchers at MIT and the Ford Motor Company have found that depending on the location, lightweight conventional vehicles could have a lower lifecycle greenhouse gas impact than electric vehicles, at least in the near term. Their paper is published in the ACS journal Environmental Science & Technology.

MIT 236
article thumbnail

MIT and IEA reports take different views of the future of natural gas in transportation

Green Car Congress

MIT and the IEA both have newly released reports exploring the potential for and impact of a major expansion in global usage of natural gas, given the current re-evaluation of global supplies. emissions are reduced by around 25% relative to the use of gasoline for the same engine efficiency. Earlier post.)

MIT 299
article thumbnail

MIT study finds real-world NOx from diesels cars in Europe greatly exceeds laboratory levels; transboundary emissions cause 70% of health impacts

Green Car Congress

A new study by MIT researchers, published this month in Atmospheric Environment , finds that in Europe, 10 major auto manufacturers produced diesel cars, sold between 2000 and 2015, that generate up to 16 times more NO x emissions on the road than in regulatory tests—a level that exceeds European limits but does not violate any EU laws.

MIT 273
article thumbnail

Study finds CO2 emissions trading more effective path to automotive CO2 reduction in Europe than tailpipe standards

Green Car Congress

Switching from the automotive standards to the trading scheme could save as much as €63 billion, says the study’s lead author Sergey Paltsev, deputy director at MIT’s Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change and senior research scientist at the MIT Energy Initiative. —Sergey Paltsev.

Standards 218