Car industry’s green claims a fairy tale says Greenpeace

17 January 2008, Brussels –As automobile shows opened in Brussels and
Vienna today, Greenpeace challenged the European car manufacturers to
stop undermining a European proposal for more fuel efficient cars, and
instead take real action to lower the climate impact of their fleets.

Dismissing the car makers’ attempts to appear green as mere PR tactics,
Greenpeace unfurled a giant banner of Pinnocchio in front of the
European car show in Brussels. [1] “Just as Pinocchio couldn’t be a real
boy till he stopped telling lies, the car makers will never be green
until they stop showing off a green image at car shows while filling the
roads with ever heavier and more powerful gas guzzlers,” said Helen
Perivier, Energy Efficiency Project Leader for Greenpeace International.

Desperate to protect their market for heavier and more powerful cars,
manufacturers last month succeeded in weakening an EU proposal to set
mandatory carbon dioxide emissions standards for their fleets sold in
Europe and push for further concessions. [2]

“Car makers are doing their utmost to present a green image. But behind
the concept cars and niche models is a backstage effort to block climate
saving legislation and promote a vast fleet of polluting vehicles, ”
said Franziska Achterberg, Transport Campaigner for Greenpeace European
Unit.

Ten years ago European carmakers promised to bring down average
emissions to 140g/km by now [3]. But the car makers’ progress to put
their cars on a carbon diet has stalled to a virtual standstill [4],
while their promises have proven no more than a tactic to delay binding
standards. Despite the fact that technologies exist to address these
issues, the car makers continue to evade their responsibility to
confront climate change today.

Greenpeace believes the EU proposal will fail to effectively control
carbon dioxide emissions unless lawmakers strengthen it by including a
120g CO2/km standard as a fleet average for 2012; and a longer-term
target of 80g CO2/km by 2020; base emission standards on a car’s utility
and not its weight; and sets effective penalties to ensure car
manufacturers respect the new standards.