COPERT (COmputer Program to calculate Emissions from Road Transport) is a globally used software tool used to calculate air pollutant and greenhouse gas emissions produced by road transport. Scientific development is managed by the European Commission.

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A dedicated Australian version of COPERT was developed in 2012-2013 to properly reflect the Australian fleet mix, fuel quality and driving characteristics and to provide vehicle emission estimates for the Australian situation.

The National Pollutant Inventory recommends COPERT Australia for motor vehicle emission inventories and it has been used to estimate motor vehicle emissions for all states and territories in Australia.

COPERT Australia estimates emissions for 122 air pollutants and greenhouse gases, and estimates emissions of both cold start and hot running exhaust and non-exhaust pollutants. COPERT Australia predicts emissions for 226 individual vehicle categories, which are defined in terms of:

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• vehicle type (e.g. small passenger car, large SUV, heavy bus, rigid truck, articulated truck)

• fuel type (petrol, E10, diesel, LPG) and

• ‘emission control technology level’ or ADRs (Australian Design Rules).

The software accounts for various other factors such as driving conditions (average speed), fuel quality, impacts of ageing on emissions (deterioration of engine and catalysts over time) and meteorology (ambient temperature and humidity).