MOTOR CARS KNOWLEDGE

The Road to "clean cars"?
This week, automotive fueling discussions on CO2 emissions. ADEME has published its list of cars that emit less carbon dioxide, whereas under the 2004 Climate Action Plan, energy labeling is mandatory for new vehicles. These efforts for better consumer information be enough to cause behavioral changes in drivers?

ADEME publishes its list of cars that emit less CO2

Through the voices of Michèle Pappalardo, its President, the Environment Agency and Energy Management (ADEME) presented May 9 its list of new cars sold on French territory under their CO2 emissions, one of the greenhouse gas emissions which contribute most to climate change. With an average of 152 grams of CO2 emitted per kilometer, these emissions have decreased by an average of one gram in one year.

Performance of diesel vehicles in this area have not progressed this year, while petrol cars have reduced their average emissions of 3 g / km. The media never fail to point out that French manufacturers, including Renault and PSA, monopolizing 10 of 12 first places in the diesel category, dominated by the smart fortwo (90g/km) to the Citroen C2 (107 g / km). The best and worst models for gasoline puts his hand in before the Toyota Prius, which remains the least polluting in CO2 emissions of 104 g / km, before the Citroën C1, Peugeot 107, Toyota Aygo and Daihatsu Cuore (109 g / km).
The new vehicle fuel étiuetage mandatory

As is already the case for appliances or light bulbs, new cars must now submit their energy performance through a specific label to better inform buyers. A scale of seven letters and colors and can locate every new vehicle of A dark green car for the best students (less than 100g of CO2/km) to G red for 4x4 vehicles that emit over 250 g dioxide carbon per kilometer. This initiative aims to encourage the adoption of the criterion "cleaner car" by buyers of new vehicles, in addition to performance or safety arguments.
Is this enough?

While in Switzerland or Germany, for example, energy labeling of vehicles includes not only the criterion of CO2 but other pollutants, the French system can seem ultimately far less ambitious, carbon dioxide does not constitute the only gas emitted by our cars when they are used. Nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons, particles could also be taken into account, as suggested for example the association Helvetic Transport and Environment, which also contains noise as a benchmark vehicle. Similarly, only new vehicles are subject to this new labeling, which could also apply to sales of used cars.

Changes observed in the ranking of ADEME, average decrease of one gram of CO2 per kilometer in particular, are also certainly positive but ultimately somewhat inconsistent. Sales of large 4x4 on the French market rose, like those mini-MPV, larger and heavier than urban, and therefore more consumers and emitters of greenhouse gases. A new tax will be applied for the registration papers of the most polluting vehicles from 1 July 2006, also based on CO2 emissions. This new initiative for the cleanest cars comes with a tax credit of € 2000 to 2009 provided the new owners of vehicles labeled A, B and C categories of the least polluting new energy label. This credit will rise to € 3,000 if they eliminated a car registered before 1997.
Change our behavior remains essential

If we can despite these reservations only welcome the initiatives outlined above, it is the changing behavior of drivers who must focus. Give priority to public transport, pool its travel with others, limit the use of the indoor climate, drive more slowly, remove galleries when they are not useful ... These small efforts, within reach of all, allow both to achieve significant financial savings, and consistently reduce our ecological footprint.