2 April 2014: The World Bank has released a report titled ‘Reducing Black Carbon Emissions from Diesel Vehicles: Impacts, Control Strategies, and Cost-Benefit Analysis,’ which attempts to quantify both the health and climate benefits from a variety of measures that could reduce transportation-related black carbon emissions.

The study applies a new methodology for cost-benefit analysis to four simulated interventions for curbing black carbon emissions from diesel vehicles: diesel retrofit in Istanbul, Turkey; green freight (plus retrofit) in São Paulo, Brazil; fuel and vehicle standards in Jakarta, Indonesia; and compressed natural gas (CNG) buses in Cebu, Philippines. The authors find that, when accounting for health and climate impacts, some projects clearly show positive results in terms of net benefits, but others are particularly sensitive to the Global Warming Potential (GWP) time horizon.

The report provides tools and information to developing country policymakers as they attempt to reduce black carbon emissions from diesel-based transportation. It summarizes approaches to curbing black carbon emissions in the developed world, but recognizes that on-the-ground implementation in developing countries must be adjusted to local circumstances.

Black carbon was found in 2013 to be second to carbon dioxide in its climate forcing. In addition, it is associated with changes in precipitation patterns, a range of diseases and premature deaths. Transportation contributed approximately 19% of global black carbon emissions in 2000. [World Bank Publication Webpage] [Publication: Reducing Black Carbon Emissions from Diesel Vehicles: Impacts, Control Strategies, and Cost-Benefit Analysis]