Cars
According to European Commission figures, domestic motor transport accounts for 12 per cent of emissions of the main greenhouse gas carbon dioxide in the EU. It is intended that an average emission of 120 grammes CO2/km, compared to current levels of 160 grammes/km, will be implemented across the car industry by 2012. A target of 130grammes is to be reached by improving vehicle motor technology with a further 10grammes to be achieved through improvements such as better tyres or the use of biofuels. The UK Government believes that these emissions could be reduced by half by the year 2030, equivalent to a 30 per cent reduction in the absolute level of CO2 emissions. The almost total use of electric or hydrogen powered vehicles is seen as a realistic long-term objective albeit one requiring a major technological breakthrough. Biofuels can occupy a segment of the UK fuel market but care must be taken not to expand the demand too quickly before crop breakthroughs and robust environmental safeguards are in place. All cars have to meet European standards for emissions. These are set because emissions can be harmful to human health and the environment. Generally, the higher the Euro number the cleaner the car. At present the highest number a vehicle can obtain is Euro four which will change to Euro five in September 2009.
Until then driving should be as green as possible and there are some simple ways to achieve this:
- Drive smoothly and slowly to reduce fuel consumption:
- Check the road ahead to anticipate traffic and avoid harsh accelerating and braking.
- Stick to the speed limits – driving at 70 miles an hour uses up to 50 per cent more fuel than at 50 miles an hour.
- Change gears at the right time to save fuel and reduce emissions.
- Shift up a gear – a vehicle travelling at 37 miles per hour in third gear uses 25 per cent more fuel than it would at the same speed in fifth.
- Stop and start less often as keeping an engine running or pumping the accelerator wastes fuel, increases energy and wear and increases emissions.
- Get in and go – modern engines are designed to be the most efficient
- Switch off your engine if you are not moving for a while.
Carry out routine maintenance checks:
- Check tyre pressures regularly as under-inflated tyres can increase fuel consumption by up to three per cent
- Remove unnecessary weight such as roof racks which increase weight and air resistance and therefore the amount of fuel needed.
- Cut down the use of air conditioning and other electrical devices like mobile phone chargers which increase fuel consumption.
Use greener fuel:
- Biofuels are made for plant materials like vegetable oils or wheat and can reduce climate change impact because the plants take in carbon dioxide as they grow. This helps balance out the CO2 emissions when the fuel is burnt. Around five per cent of biofuels can be mixed with ordinary diesel or petrol and used in all vehicles without modification.
Electric Hybrids
These use batteries that are charged up by petrol engines which mitigate the CO2 emissions produced. They are fuel efficient and don’t compromise performance.
Electric Cars
Driving an electric car produces no emissions but emissions are produced from the electricity generation.
Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG)
LPG is a waste product that burns more cleanly than fossil fuels and costs about half as much as petrol.
Vehicles can convert to run on LPG and will produce about 20 per cent less carbon dioxide than petrol cars. As a result, many LPGs are exempt from the London congestion charge.
Its credentials as one of the cleanest fuels on the market are good news for air quality. European tests on an LPG engine recently found that it emitted substantially fewer particles than a diesel one. LPG fuelled engines are also about 50 per cent quieter than diesels.
