Enhancing the Gasoline Vehicles' CO2 Emissions Estimation in Montreal

Climate change has become one of the most critical environmental concerns of the past decades, with greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions being identified as the main culprit. Globally, policy makers have been trying to reduce GHG emissions through various policies and strategies; given that in North America, transportation accounts for 30% of the total emissions, it has become the focus of attention for GHG reduction initiatives. The first step to implementing a policy or strategy is to estimate its potential impact on emissions; the use of emission models is necessary to assess the potential impact of those initiatives. Since the 70s, many researchers have developed different models, reaching a peak in the number of studies in the 80s. The emission models have evolved since then and have been regularly updated, but still need improvements. Since these models are extremely sensitive to their input datasets and their methods of calibration, failing to provide accurate input datasets or calibration can result in erroneous stimations.

Résumé

Les changements climatiques sont devenus l'un des enjeux environnementaux principaux des dernières années, les émissions de gaz à effet de serre (GES) étant pointées du doigt comme principal coupable. Globalement, les décideurs des politiques tentent depuis un certain temps de réduire les émissions des GES à travers diverses mesures et politiques. Considérant qu'en Amérique du Nord, le domaine du transport compte pour 30% des émissions totales, il est devenu le centre d'attention pour les initiatives de réduction des émissions de GES.