GFEI Co-Organizes Russia’s First Specialized Auto Fuel Economy Event
The international conference on Improving fuel economy and reduction of emissions from road transport in Russia 17-18 June 2014 in Moscow.
The Global Fuel Economy Initiative co-hosted a two-day, high-level auto fuel economy policy discussion in partnership with UNDP Russia and the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation on 17-18 June in Moscow. Russia is currently the world’s seventh largest auto market, projected to become Europe’s largest and the world’s fifth top market by 2020. The country is the remaining major economy without an official fuel economy target.
The purpose of this first international conference was to catalyze the joint development of the first steps towards improving the energy efficiency of road transport in Russia through federal policy, incentive systems, and the use of advanced technology and to determine priorities for further action to improve auto fuel economy in Russia. Specialists from the International Energy Agency, the United Nations Environment Programme, the International Council on Clean Transportation and the International Transport Forum will exchange experience with the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, Ministry of Energy, the Ministry of Economic Development, the Ministry of Natural Resources, and research and industry representatives.
A draft resolution drafted by participants and organizers prioritized the “importance of the participation of the Russian Federation in the efforts of the Global Fuel Economy Initiative (GFEI) on reduction of CO2 emissions and fuel consumption rate to a half by 2050 globally (the international campaign “50x50”)” and asked the Ministry of Transport of Russia, the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia, the Ministry of Energy of Russia and the Ministry of Industry of Russia “to consolidate efforts on improving automotive fuel economy in Russia and develop a common roadmap for practical targets and their implementation, which would define the measures on enhancement of energetic issues and environmental problems control efficiency.”
According to GFEI research, improving fuel economy from 8 Lge/100km to 4 Lge/100km between 2005 and 2030 requires an average annual improvement of 2.7% globally. Reaching this target at a global level is ambitious, but achievable if developing and emerging markets join in the global effort. The International Energy Agency tracks the fuel economy trends of many countries around the world, including Russia. Available data shows that the national fuel economy average for Russia was 8.33 Lge/100km in 2005 and 8.11 Lge/100 km in 2008, a reduction of 0.9%. In 2010 there was further improvement to 7.8 lge/100km in 2010 and 7.7 lge/100km in 2011. For reference and comparison, during the 2005-2011 period, the global average went from 8 Lge/100km to 7.2 Lge/100km, an annual improvement, or fuel economy increase, rate (% per year) of 1.8%.
