Background - 31 March, 2008
Carbon emissions are rising
Burning fossil fuels like petrol or diesel gives off carbon dioxide (CO2), the main greenhouse gas. To avoid the worst effects of climate change, greenhouse gas emissions need to peak no later than 2015 and then begin falling.
Unfortunately, car ownership and miles driven are growing, leading to a growth in emissions. In the European Union (EU), 12 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions come from passenger cars. As more and more cars are being driven, greenhouse gas emissions from cars are rising, even as emissions from other sources are falling, threatening our ability to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.
Broken Promises
The Car industry promised to tackle climate change by reducing the average greenhouse gas emissions from cars to 140 grams per kilomenter, but failed. It is ten years since the car industry said there was no need for governments to pass laws about CO2 emissions because they were already taking it seriously.
Rather than face regulation they promised to cut their emissions from 180 grams of CO2 per kilometre in 1998 to 140 grams by 2008. Not only didn't they make it, but progress has ground to a halt.
What does that mean for a driver?
A car's CO2 emissions can be related to how far a car can travel per litre of petrol.
In 2006, emissions from the average new car sold in Europe were 160 grams per km. The extra 20 grams per kilometre of CO2, multiplied by every kilometre driven, multiplied be every car in the EU adds up to a lot of CO2 that could have been avoided through responsible product design.