Climate Impacts of Diesel Pollution
A POTENT CLIMATE CHANGE FORCER
 Black carbon, a component of diesel exhaust, is one of the largest contributing pollutants to climate change. Black carbon warms the atmosphere by absorbing sunlight and radiating heat into the air (like a blacktop road). Black carbon can also darken snow and ice, directly accelerating melting in the sensitive arctic regions. As a global warming pollutant, black carbon is about 2,000 times more potent than the equivalent amount of CO2 over a 20-year period.
BC CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE U.S.
The United States has the highest per-capita emissions of black carbon in the world. Over half of U.S. black carbon emissions come from diesel engines: 41 percent from on-road diesels and 16 percent from off-road diesels.
HOW TO VIRTUALLY ELIMINATE THIS PROBLEM
This photo shows a DPF retrofit installed on an 18-wheeler. Diesel particulate filters (DPFs) are the only technology that can virtually eliminate black carbon particles (90+ percent effectiveness). Filters can be retrofit on some older diesel vehicles and equipment, and have been required new on-road diesel engines since 2007. Filters are being phased in as a requirement on most off-road equipment between 2011 and 2013. To learn more about diesel particulate filter technology, go to our Technology page.
MEETING THE NEAR-TERM CLIMATE NEED
Retrofitting diesel engines with filters is one of the few actions that will have immediate climate benefits, complementing long-term efforts to reduce CO2 emissions. Despite clean diesel regulations for new engines there are 11 million old diesels in the U.S. that may be in use for decades. To the maximum extent possible, older engines should be retrofit with filters or replaced by new, cleaner engines. The Diesel Clean-Up Campaign is working to include funding for diesel retrofits in the most viable federal climate legislation. To learn more about diesel clean-up in Climate Legislation, go to our Federal Policies page.
RESOURCES
This paper represents Clean Air Task Force's (CATF's) attempt to quantify the CO2- equivalent climate benefits of removing black carbon from the diesel exhaust emissions of tractor-trailer trucks using diesel particulate filters (DPFs). The DPF is a proven, off-the-shelf technology that can reduce black carbon emissions by 90 percent or more. Large U.S. Class 8 trucks (defined as exceeding 33,000 lbs.), typically used in a "combination" tractor-trailer configuration were chosen as an example because they constitute a significant contributor to U.S. diesel sector pollution from which black carbon emissions can be controlled fleet wide with readily available technology. The methodology in this paper could also be applied to smaller trucks and other diesel engines as well.
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Click To See in "Climate":
A potent Climate Change Force
BC Contributions from the U.S.
How to Virtually Eliminate this Problem
Meeting the Near-Term Climate Need
Resources
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