Une étude américaine présente, pour les véhicules lourds, une synthèse des solutions et des méthodes pour réduire les consommations et émissions de GES.
Liquid fuel consumption by medium- and heavy-duty vehicles (MHDVs) represents 26 percent of all U.S. liquid transportation fuels and has increased more rapidly—in both absolute and percentage terms—than consumption by other sectors, and these trends are forecast to continue until 2035 (DOE, EIA, 2009). In early recognition of these trends, the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (Public Law 110-140—Dec. 19, 2007), Section 108, was passed, requiring the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), for the first time in history, to establish fuel economy standards for MHDVs. In December 2009 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) formally declared that greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions endanger public health and the environment within the meaning of the Clean Air Act, a decision that compels EPA to consider establishing first-ever GHG emission standards for new motor vehicles, including MHDVs. If the United States is to reduce its reliance on foreign sources of oil, and reduce GHG emissions from the transportation sector, it is important to consider how the fuel consumption of MHDVs can be reduced.
Following on EISA, the National Research Council appointed the Committee to Assess Fuel Economy Technologies for Medium- and Heavy-Duty Vehicles. The committee considered approaches to measuring fuel economy (the committee uses fuel consumption), assessed current and future technologies for reducing fuel consumption, addressed how such technologies may be practically implemented in vehicles, discussed the pros and cons of approaches to improving the fuel efficiency of moving goods as opposed to setting vehicle fuel consumption standards, and identified potential costs and other impacts on the operation of MHDVs.
