Enhancing the Gasoline Vehicles' CO2 Emissions Estimation in Montrea

Climate change has become one of the most critical environmental concerns of the past decades, with greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions being identified as the main culprit. Globally, policy makers have been trying to reduce GHG emissions through various policies and strategies; given that in North America, transportation accounts for 30% of the total emissions, it has become the focus of attention for GHG reduction initiatives. The first step to implementing a policy or strategy is to estimate its potential impact on emissions; the use of emission models is necessary to assess the potential impact of those initiatives. Since the 70s, many researchers have developed different models, reaching a peak in the number of studies in the 80s. The emission models have evolved since then and have been regularly updated, but still need improvements. Since these models are extremely sensitive to their input datasets and their methods of calibration, failing to provide accurate input datasets or calibration can result in erroneous stimations.;Keeping that in perspective, the main objective of this research is to contribute to the improvement of emission estimation models. To do so, three specific objectives were identified: the first specific objective is to provide a review of the available models and evaluate the impact of different factors on emissions. The second specific objective is to understand and assess the main emission model that is used in Quebec and identify the variables that have the highest level of sensitivity and can most affect the estimates. The last specific objective is to improve the methodology for developing driving patterns used in emission models. (Abstract shortened by ProQuest.).