| Assessment Of The Comparative Environmental Performance Of Alternative Bus Technologies, Mexico City | | A SENES-lead consortium, comprised of SENES Consultants Limited, the Environmental Technology Centre of Environment Canada, Air Improvement Resource Incorporated and iTRANS Consulting, was hired by the World Bank to make an assessment of the comparative environmental performance of alternative bus technologies in Mexico City, in support of a much larger GEF project to introduce climate friendly measures into the transportation sector in Mexico. A primary objective of the project was the development of a baseline and monitoring methodology that will enable a Clean Development Project under the UNFCCC. The overall methodology was supported by actual field testing of alternative bus technologies and development of an Information Sharing System that would help to demonstrate how the GEF project realizes its full global value and can be of use to other countries planning to undertake similar activities. |
The development of a baseline methodology for the assessment of emission reductions from a mobile carbon source is a complex undertaking that requires a diversity of expertise. The overall objectives of the project were to develop a methodology for local and global emission reductions generated by the Insurgentes corridor, estimate the actual emission of local pollutants and greenhouse gases in the area of the corridor and the surrounding Zone of Influence prior to construction, and estimate the reductions expected as a result of implementing the corridor. An important part of developing the methodology was to provide strategic expert advice and guidance to the design consultants to ensure that the baselines developed for the actual construction of the corridors were suitable for the purchase of Certified Emission Reductions (CERs) under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of the Kyoto Protocol. The approach included the definition of a Zone of Influence that ensured that leakage of emissions was minimized. Application of the Traffic/Emission Model for estimating existing and future baseline emissions and emission reductions associated with the implementation of the corridor demonstrated that there was significant uncertainty in using traffic models for estimating vehicle kilometers travelled. Extensive traffic measurements were necessary to obtain the accuracy ranges required for the estimated reductions. The scoping of a monitoring protocol with the appropriate level of redundancy for the third party validation of actual reductions once the corridor starts operating was also necessary.
The ultimate goal of the project was the development of a Transportation Baseline and Monitoring methodology that would meet the needs of the UNFCCC Methodologies Panel and pave the way for development of similar projects worldwide.
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