Car Emissions Information

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Car CO2 emissions

Climate Change, often referred to as Global Warming, is considered to be one of the greatest environmental threats facing the World today. When petrol, diesel or certain alternative fuels are burnt for energy in an engine the main by-products are water and Carbon Dioxide (CO2). CO2, although not directly harmful to human health, is the most significant of the greenhouse gases contributing to Climate Change.

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Cars make a significant contribution to overall emissions of CO2 in the UK. Additionally, and especially in urban areas, road transport is also one of the major sources of emissions which are harmful to human health. The purpose of this website is to aid consumers in making an informed choice when buying a new car. It lists the fuel consumption, CO2, and other emissions performance figures of NEW cars, currently on the market in the UK.

It also seeks to advise on key environmental issues as well as giving guidance on ways of reducing the impact of cars on the environment. The figures shown are obtained during official tests, which are required before a model of car can be offered for sale. Figures are listed for most new petrol and diesel cars on sale in the UK as well as for some cars powered by alternative fuels (Liquid Petroleum Gas/Compressed Natural Gas) and some hybrid vehicles, which use both electric motors and internal combustion engines.

Cars and Carbon Dioxide

As mentioned above, CO2 is the most important of the greenhouse gases which are contributing to Climate Change. Unless action is taken to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, such as CO2, the whole pattern of the World's weather could change, increasing the frequency and intensity of heatwaves, floods, droughts and storms.

Compared to the reductions in the emissions of toxic pollutants,as desribed below, there has been less progress on reducing CO2 from cars. For a given type of fuel the CO2 emissions of a car are directly proportional to the quantity of fuel consumed. Until recently the average fuel consumption of new cars changed slowly. This was because while engines had become more efficient over this period, average vehicle mass had increased due to additional features to meet crash safety requirements and the widespread addition of features such as power assisted steering and air conditioning.

However, at the Kyoto Conference on climate change in 1997, most developed countries agreed to legally binding targets to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions in response to warnings over global climate change.

Arising from this, the European Commission and industry associations of the major manufacturers selling in the EU, agreed in 1998 to reduce the average g/km carbon dioxide emissions of new cars. These voluntary targets would reduce this figure by over 25% by 2008/9, to 140g/km. Average fuel consumption has therefore dropped somewhat as a result of these voluntary agreements

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