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In the face of climate and ecological crises, it is vital that car use be reduced, while simultaneously shifting towards different powertrains and reducing the size, weight and energy demand of vehicles. This poses a challenge to the global car industry, as its business model historically centres on selling more and larger cars. In this context, the purpose of this paper is to examine the social-ecological limits of industrial restructuring in Germany. A narrative literature review through the lens of Marxian political economy sheds light on intertwined system-immanent barriers to achieving social and ecological sustainability at the sectoral level. Consequently, powertrain electrification is structured by technological dynamism, which fuels appropriation in the quest for metals and rare earths, with significant social and ecological disadvantages. This generates an impasse for the industry's transition strategies. Understanding how capitalist tendencies generate interlaced and mutually re-enforcing barriers to achieving social-ecological sustainability is key to understanding why industrial transitions are insufficient from a social-ecological perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract China transport energy consumption grows greatly along with dramatically escalated carbon dioxide emissions. Saving energy in transportation is requested for both reducing energy pressure intensity and decreasing relevant emissions. Large scale energy conservation and emission reduction are Chinese automotive industrys' fundamental objectives. This paper addresses a nonlinear hybrid fuzzy based proportional integral derivative (PID) control methodology to reduce the automobile fuel over-consumption and gases over-emission. After introducing the mathematical model of the automobile Pierburg mechatronic actuator of nonlinear character with parameter uncertainties, its angular displacement is controlled via the proposed PID-fuzzy logic control (FLC) approach. The outputs of the PID controller are the entries of the series-connected FLC. The hybrid topology merges the simplicity and robustness advantages of both the classical PID and the FLC methods respectively. The feedback controller, based on FLC technique, is designed to desirably maintain the angular displacement towards their desired reference values with possible least steady state errors. The proper steady state error elimination will lead to considerable gas emission reduction together with improved energy efficiency. Through Matlab/Simulink tools, the numerical simulations significantly illustrate that the hybrid PID-FLC technique can contribute efficiently in ameliorating the system dynamic behavior in presence of parameter uncertainties. The overall system behavioral analysis enhancement and the proposed controller robustness are experimentally validated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose This study aims to present a competitive advantages framework suited for disaster prone regions in the era of climate change, present supply chain cooperation (SCC) as an integral part of GrSCM within the automobile industry and evaluate the competitive advantages framework merits based on SCC as a new implementation tool.Design/methodology/approach In an effort to address limited green supply chain management implementation strategies in disaster prone regions, the paper presents SCC as an economic, social and political implementation tool. To explore this; the study introduces SCC in a three-phase competitive advantages model adopted from the Barney 1995 model (with slight differences). Smart PLS 3.0 software package was adopted to carry out multi-variable data analysis. The study's assumption is a capital economic system and bases its argument of analysis on stockholder theoretical lenses.Findings Big company size does not significantly affect SCC, suggesting that companies of all size can organize and enhance their network to be cooperative. Companies with cooperative supply chain network tend to have competitive advantages. SCC is also a viable way to manage business risks, be there internal or external.Research limitations/implications One of the study's limitation is the stockholder theory it adopts, which shoulders its assumptions on a capital economic model of operation. Indeed, the study covered China, which is seen to be a communist-based economy. Another study's limitation is that it narrows its data collection to disaster prone areas as documented by Guha-Sapir et al. (2012). Consequently, the findings of this study might be only applicable to areas that experience significant level of disruptions usually caused by disaster incidents.Originality/value The study is also the first of its kind to propose a model for automobile manufacturing in disaster prone regions. This is done by introducing SCC as an economic, social and political factor, while risk ranking is introduced as an environmental factor to constitute the external changes that Barney 1995 introduced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to concerns related to climate change, and an attempt to encourage more sustainable behavior, individuals are often provided with information on greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) of consumer items, such as personal vehicles. Currently in the US, information on vehicle efficiency is provided as grams of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) per mile. Previous research presenting CO 2 as a mass and testing willingness-to-pay through Discrete Choice Experiment has found that such information can influence vehicle choice. However, other research has questioned whether how this information is presented might affect choice. That research argues that CO 2 emission information generally lacks contextualization that allows for interpretation. As well, it argues that the type of contextualization may affect choices. That research though did not test willingness-to-pay and the strength of its influence is not clear. In addition, research exists that argues that using pro-social, as opposed to financial, contextualization might be more influential on people’s choices. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to build on these previous findings on how CO 2 emissions are presented to determine whether changing how that information impacts vehicle choice with a Discrete Choice Experiment of vehicle choice analyzed using latent class modeling. No previous study has so robustly studied the influence that different framings might have on vehicle purchase. Five different methods of presenting CO 2 information are tested in this experiment: CO 2 emissions as grams per mile (current method), CO 2 emissions as pounds per year (consistent imperial units), CO 2 emissions as tons per year (yearly contextualization), an annual tax on CO 2 (yearly financial contextualization), and CO 2 as a percentage of the 2025 US EPA reduction target of 26% from 2005 levels (social goal contextualization). Results demonstrate that the current method results in lowest willingness to pay for CO 2 emission reductions, while the social goal contextualization results in the highest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past two decades, China has become a global economic force. However, this economic growth has led to significant increases in carbon-intense energy consumption, with potentially disastrous impacts on the global environment. Fueling this energy explosion is an increased demand for automobiles in China, which has been met by an expanding auto production industry. This paper reviews China's current and projected energy and environmental milieu, with particular emphasis on automobile market development. The paper links China's sustainability potential to its technologies, policies, markets, and automobile industry structure. The paper concludes by characterizing the type of research that is needed to help meet China's growing transportation needs in a sustainable fashion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper critically analyses the voluntary agreement of the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) which is intended to ensure a significant reduction of average CO 2 emissions from new passenger cars. It concludes that the voluntary agreement is far from being an adequate solution in terms of both ecological effectiveness and economic cost-efficiency. Therefore, the paper proposes to replace the voluntary agreement by an emission trading scheme which directly places car makers under obligation. This switch in policy should be accompanied by further phased increases in the ecotax levied on fuels and a vehicle taxation system that places greater focus on CO 2 emission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Automobiles are an important source of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and other greenhouse gases (GHG) involved in climate change and human health impairment. Correct information on the environmental impact of cars in terms of CO 2 emissions and fuel consumption is necessary in car advertisements. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the completeness of information on CO 2 emissions and fuel consumption in car advertisements according to the 1999/94/EC European Directive. We examined 902 car advertisements published in a monthly Italian car magazine searching for data on CO 2 emissions and fuel consumption according to 1999/94/EC Directive and also on further characteristics, such as type of car, engine size and power, power supply and compliance with European anti-pollution legislation. Our data showed only partial adherence to the statutory provisions of 1999/94/EC Directive: data on CO 2 emissions and fuel consumption were published with a high frequency, but they were referred to the specific car advertised in only a low percentage of ads, with relevant differences among car manufacturers. This makes difficult to compare the CO 2 emissions and fuel consumption of different cars to potential buyers. Full adherence to all provisions of the abovementioned Directive by all car manufacturers is desirable to provide consumers comprehensive and transparent information on the environmental performance of cars. The easiest and most effective way for a full and correct application of 1999/94/EC Directive is the introduction in ads of a label, similar to that currently in use for refrigerators and tires, reporting for each car advertised the official fuel consumption and official specific CO 2 emissions figures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Various environmental regulations put ever stringent requirements on the automotive industry as a part of solution to the problem of global warming and climate change. In Europe, the upcoming Euro 6 standard that will come into force on September 1, 2014 demands reduction in NO x emissions from cars and vehicles intended for transport by more than 50% compared to the current standard. The urea-water-solution (UWS) based selective catalytic reduction (SCR) is currently the most promising method for fulfilling these requirements. In principle, the UWS spray is injected into a hot exhaust gas stream preceding the SCR catalyst and ammonia is generated through series of chemical reactions. Then, the generated ammonia acts in various deNO x reactions as a reductant. This paper investigates application of numerical modeling in the area of environmentally friendly technology of mobile SCR as a green engineering measure to reduce pollution in the road transport sector. Within this work the mathematical model of surface tension has been developed and compared to analytical expression for isothermal droplet spreading. Furthermore, this model was incorporated into the wall film module of the commercial computational fluid dynamics code FIRE for description of urea-water-solution injection into hot exhaust gases of diesel engine and compared to experimental data. Results of the conducted numerical study support the feasibility of commercial application of the presented model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Improving the management of carbon emissions and the development of cleaner production can be a demanding challenge for business and industry. Within this, accounting for carbon management requires quantification of a firm’s direct and indirect emissions. Unfortunately, however, there is a lack of concepts and tools suitable for use in the measurement of carbon performance both in the production process as well as in the supply chain as a whole. The purpose of this paper is, therefore, to explore the role of environmental management accounting and, in particular, the eco-control approach for carbon management as part of the management of a firm’s supply chain. Employing a case study of Korean automobile manufacturers, we explore the roles and usefulness of eco-control as a means of identifying and measuring carbon performance in a production plant. This study finds that eco-control can foster alignment between a firm’s carbon management strategy and carbon performance measurement, and provides useful quantified information for corporate decision makers. In addition, viable mapping of carbon flow in production provides important opportunities to improve carbon performance within the supply chain. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Information about several papers discussed at a symposium held at Cleveland, Ohio from April 14-16, 2011 on the role and the relationship between the U.S. and Canada regarding energy development. The energy policy of the U.S. is set by the companies Exxon and British Petroleum Co. PLC. Information on the impact of the automotive sector on the climatic change and the development of energy is also presented.

Abstract: The automobile industry in China has rapidly developed in recent years which resulted in an increase in gasoline usage and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Focus on climate change has also accelerated to grow pressure on reducing vehicle weight and improving fuel efficiency. Aluminum (Al) as a light metal has demonstrated a great potential for weight savings in applications such as engine blocks, cylinder heads, wheels, hoods, tailgates etc. However, primary Al production requires intensive energy and the cost of Al is more than traditional steel, which may affect the total benefits realized from using Al in automobiles. Therefore, it is very essential to conduct a study to quantify the life cycle GHG emissions and energy consumption if the plan is to achieve fleet-wide Al intensive vehicles. This paper describes a life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology and the general modeling assumptions used to evaluate the impact of Al intensive vehicle on GHG emissions and energy consumption. The results indicated that the reductions in life cycle GHG emissions and energy consumption were not significant when the maximum Al content in an automobile is 145 kg, which is the average level of Al usage in automobiles in North America. A neural network methodology was used to forecast the vehicle stock in China from 2010 to 2020 and a vehicle fleet model was established to track GHG emissions and energy consumption of the vehicle fleet. A material availability factor was also introduced into the LCA methodology to further assist decision makers in providing rational proposals for a widespread implementation of Al in automobiles. A sensitivity analysis was also conducted to study the impact of the Al content in a vehicle on the final outcomes. The GHG emissions and energy consumption could be further reduced when the Al content in an automobile increases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Fuel economy and emission abatement are issues, which are highly prioritized areas in the automotive industry of today. The debate about climate change has in recent years even more emphasized the importance of these issues and has increased the search for finding sustainable technical solutions. This paper describes an effort to develop an innovative and environmentally-benign hydrogen generation system operating on commercial diesel fuel to avoid running the engine to supply electricity at stand-still. The use of a fuel cell-based auxiliary power unit (APU) has the potential of delivering electricity at high efficiencies independent of the heavy-duty truck engine. During the reformer development phase, spray formation and mixing of reactants proved to be crucial to obtain high reforming efficiencies and low diesel slip. The diesel is being injected through a nozzle creating a spray of fine droplets of a size which can establish rapid evaporation. Air and steam are being pre-heated and injected into the mixture chamber and subsequently mixed with the evaporated diesel fuel. Depending on the operating parameters, a part of the fuel is being oxidized and produces heat. Autothermal reforming was chosen to circumvent the heat transfer problem in catalytic steam reforming. By supplying heat directly to the catalyst surface by an oxidation reaction the heat demand of the strongly endothermic steam reforming reaction can be fulfilled. We employed CFD calculations, which revealed the importance of avoiding large recirculation zones leading to a prolonged residence time of the hydrocarbon molecules and causing auto-ignition and excessive temperatures in the catalyst. Five different reformer generations are being described and discussed in detail in this publication. The first one was based on a fixed bed reactor, while the other four all relied on catalytic monoliths enabling low pressure drops. The early reactor designs all suffered from auto-ignition and instability problems. The latter generations exhibited a considerably more stable temperature profile in the reformer. The conversion of diesel and the reformer efficiencies are significantly higher than the early generation diesel reformers. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article reports on the on the implications of the automobile era amidst the climate change problems. This paper reinvestigates the implications of the bulk of pollution coming from gas emissions and the current state of increased automobile production. The author also explains the mitigation of greenhouse gases and the decadal outline scales towards reduction. Scholars hope that in the years ahead, a different social science of biological behavior would spring out to change political and economic disasters.

North American, European and Japanese governments have legislated to control Greenhouse Gas emissions and have promoted alternative technology as part of strategies to address climate change. Governments worldwide have sought to encourage adoption of alternative automotive technology by funding demonstrations and in-service trials. Among other initiatives the automotive industry has explored applications of a radical technological innovation - fuel cells - to power a range of vehicles from forklifts to buses. This paper examines the rationale and actions of various stakeholders to facilitate adoption of fuel cell technology in vehicles through a specific market segment - that of fuel cell buses (FCBs) - and explores the progress of FCB projects in North America, Europe and Japan. It examines the role of demonstration projects and highlights the complexity of the relationship between government and developers, and the multifarious and conflicting objectives of industry players that inhibit progress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]