Air pollution continues to pose a significant threat to the environment and the health and quality of life of Asia’s urban population. The World Health Organization (WHO) has estimated that more than 530,000 premature deaths in Asia are due to urban air pollution. Motor vehicles, including passenger cars, motorcycles, scooters, and heavy-duty buses and trucks, are almost always a major source of this air pollution in Asian cities. Key emissions from motor vehicles include carbon monoxide, particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, and volatile organic compounds including unburned hydrocarbons. Emissions of these pollutants depend a great deal on the quality of the fuels used, the engine technology, and the emission control devices used on vehicles.

Vehicle emissions in many Asian countries are expected to increase over the next few decades, as the vehicle population increases. If no action is taken to clean up fuels and vehicles, urban air quality will continue to decline. Reducing emissions from motor vehicles depends upon introducing cleaner fuels for the advanced emission control technologies that require these cleaner fuels. A key first step has been the worldwide drive to eliminate lead in gasoline, which has resulted in more than 90% of the world’s gasoline becoming lead-free. It is now time to address all fuel issues, including sulfur in fuel, additives, and other fuel components.

This report is designed to provide decision makers with up-to-date information on how to clean up fuels in Asia by developing their own road maps. This regional road map discusses the interaction between fuels and vehicle technologies and the approaches that Asian refineries can take to produce cleaner fuels, and it recommends next steps.

Download the document here: A road map for cleaner fuels and vehicles in Asia