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Blue Skies, Blue Seas
tax rate than to equivalent gasoline price changes stemming from market price fluctuations. In another case, Germany’s 1 percent fuel-price hike decreased the number of kilometers driven by 0.4 percent, thus contributing to lower vehicle emissions and higher air quality (Frondel and Vance 2018).
Improving Vehicle Technology, Emissions Control, and Inspection Increasing vehicle fuel efficiency requirements and setting vehicle emission limits can decrease air pollution. Continuous renewal of the vehicle fleet with vehicles adhering to emission standards, such as those set by the EU (see box 3.6 on the Euro emissions standards and their adoption in the Middle East and North Africa), have led to a decrease in average emissions per driven kilometer in Middle East and North Africa cities (Abdallah et al. 2020). The effects of the penetration of Euro standards in global markets—following from the fact that vehicles exported from Japan, the EU, and the US must fulfill these standards regardless of the domestic regulation in the destination country—are referred to as the “Euro effect” in some scientific studies. PM2.5 emissions were more than
BOX 3.6
Vehicle Technology and Related Regulations in the Middle East and North Africa Mandating increased efficiency for newly produced cars and trucks and setting standards for their maximum emissions are ways to reduce their environmental impact and decrease the air pollution they cause. The European Union (EU) puts forward directives for various types of vehicles—the so-called Euro standards—that regulate maximum emissions and introduce a set of approval tests that these vehicles must pass before being eligible for sale.
New-Vehicle Technology Regulations Starting in 1992 with the Euro 1 standard, these regulations became mandatory in all
EU member states, and new vehicles had to be equipped with a closed-loop, three-way catalyst. Subsequent adaptions of the regulations took place in the following decades and required reductions of pollutant emissions from newly introduced cars, with Euro 6 being in effect since September 2014. Exported vehicles from the EU also must meet these standards. Some countries outside the EU followed suit, adopting the same or similar regulations. Not all economies in the Middle East and North Africa have adopted measures to restrict imported cars to fulfill the newest Euro emissions standards, but in (continued)
