ACEA

Passenger cars contribute to 12% of man-made CO2 in Europe, according to 2004 figures from the European Commission concerning the EU-25. The share of transport is 26%, of energy plants 39%, of industry 16% and of households 19%. On a global scale, passenger cars emit 5% of man-made CO2, according to figures from the European Commission and the IPCC. Within that global share, the European passenger car fleet accounts for 2%.

Emissions come from usage: Despite the fact that new cars emit significantly less CO2, emissions from road transport keep rising. This is due to increasing freight transport, the aging car fleet, a lack of traffic management and increased mileage. Between 1995 and 2003, motorists in the EU-25 increased their annual mileage by 16.4%.

Aging car fleet: Furthermore, the ownership of cars rises faster than the sales of newly produced cars. In the biggest EU markets, for every new car leaving a dealership, two second-hand cars change owner. The average age of cars in the EU-15 is now 8 years and up to 14 in the new EU Member States, to the detriment of road safety improvements and the environmental performance of the car fleet.

Need for combining efforts: It is obvious that a strategy to reduce CO2 emissions from cars should not only focus on new cars and on vehicle technology. Only a comprehensive approach, including alternative fuels, infrastructure, policy makers and drivers, and taxation, can result in effectively reducing CO2 emissions from passenger car traffic. Climate change is a complex and global problem that can only be tackled when efforts are combined.