Environment
Q1) How much CO2 does the average (new) UK car produce?
Q2) What was the Scrappage Scheme and did it help reduce CO2 emissions?
Q3) What are the future limits for CO2 emissions?
Q4) Are road traffic emissions forecast to fall?
Q5) How can we reduce road transport emissions?
Q6) How do you identify cars with the lowest CO2 emissions?
Q7) How can I cut my vehicle’s CO2 emissions when driving my car?
Q8) How does the banding structure for vehicle tax work?
Q9) What is the proportion of the new car market by fuel type?
Q10) What is the UK’s average new car fuel consumption?
Q11) How can I check a vehicle’s average fuel consumption?
Q12) What proportion of the UK’s emissions come from transport and how much of that is from cars?
Q13) What about local air pollutants?
Q14) What are ultra clean vehicles?
Q15) How many ultra clean vehicles are licensed?
A1) The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) New Car CO2 Report 2012 states that in 2011 the average CO2 emissions from a new car were 138.1g/km.
This figure is 23 per cent lower than the figure for 2000 (with 70 per cent of this progress made in the past 4 years) and 4.2 per cent less than 2010.
The Report also shows that almost half of new cars - 46.8 per cent - had emissions below the 2015 European Union legislative target of 130gCO2 /km.
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A2) Alongside other European countries, the UK Government introduced a Scrappage Incentive Scheme (SIS) on 18 May 2009. The SIS offered a £2,000 incentive, equally split between government and industry, to new car or van buyers scrapping a ten-year-old vehicle.
The SMMT was able to link details of 85% of those cars registered through the SIS to the MVRIS database and show that those cars had an average CO2 emissions figure of 133.3gCO2/km. This was 9.8 per cent below the average of all cars registered between May and December 2009 and some 27 per cent below the 182gCO2/km figure of the average scrapped car (based on segmentation of scrapped cars using the 1997 CO2 average values).
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A3) The European Commission has set a legislative target (contained in Regulation 443/2009/EC) of 130gCO2/km. After a three year phase-in period, this limit will come fully into force from 2015, with derogations for manufacturers under certain sales volume thresholds, extra credits for very low-emitting vehicles (under 50gCO2/km) and emissions-reduction technologies.
The Regulation also specifies an average target of 95gCO2/km in 2020 (subject to review by 2013).
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A4) Yes. Despite English total traffic being forecast to rise by around 44 per cent between 2010 and 2035, road traffic emissions are forecast to fall. CO2 emissions are forecast to fall by around 9 per cent between 2010 and 2035, with PM10 and Nox emissions falling too.
Source: 2011 Road Transport Forecasts
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A5) Road transport emissions can be reduced by:-
• Rapidly reducing emissions from vehicles with conventional Powertrains
• Dramatically reducing the greenhouse gas intensity of fuels and accelerating the transition to low carbon vehicles
• Developing smart infrastructure to support zero-carbon mobility
• Purposefully engineering cities and other spaces to support a near zero-carbon transport future
For more details, see the Imperial College briefing paper.
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A6) There is a tool on the Directgov website to compare the fuel costs and CO2 emissions of new cars.
As well as using less fuel and paying less car tax, more efficient cars also emit lower CO2 emissions. Car showrooms display fuel economy labels to show how fuel efficient each new car is. The labels make it easy to compare different car and show a rating from band A (green) to band G (red), with A being the most fuel efficient, and how much road tax is payable each year.
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A7) There are a few easy things that you can do when you drive and look after your car to help reduce the amount of fuel you burn and so cut down on CO2 emissions. The key is to reduce the amount of work your engine has to do, because the greater the workload, the more fuel is burned – so the higher the CO2 emissions. By following the smarter driving tips below you could cut your CO2 emissions by up to 15% – equivalent to an annual fuel saving of up to one month per year.
Before you set off:-
• Pump up your tyres
• Clear out any extra weight
• Have your vehicle serviced regularly
• Plan your route
While driving:-
• Drive at an appropriate speed
• Speed up and slow down smoothly
• Change gears at lower revs
• Avoid leaving your engine running
• Don’t use air conditioning unless you really need it
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A8) Cars registered before 1 March 2001 are taxed according to engine size.
Not over 1549 - £135
Over 1549 - £220
Vehicle tax rate for cars registered on or after 1 March 2001 are split into 13 bands depending on CO2 emissions. The amount you'll pay depends on which band your car is in. The lower a car’s emissions, the lower the vehicle tax payable on it.
Band CO2 emissions (g / km) Standard 12 month rate 12-13 First year 12 month rate 12-13
A Up to 100 0 0
B 101-110 20 0
C 111-120 30 0
D 121-130 100 0
E 131-140 120 120
F 141-150 135 135
G 151-165 170 170
H 166-175 195 275
I 176-185 215 325
J 186-200 250 460
K* 201-225 270 600
L 226-255 460 815
M Over 255 475 1030
*Band K includes cars that have a CO2 emission figure over 225gCO2/km but were registered before 23 March 2006.
Alternatively fuelled cars are charged at different rates.
Full details can be found here.
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A9) The marketplace remains dominated by petrol and diesel variants, which collectively accounted for over 98% of 2011 new car registrations. Diesel cars took a record 50.6% market share of total new car registrations in 2011.
In 2000, petrol fuelled cars represented over 85% of the total market. That level has fallen to under 50%, reflective of the availability and improvements in diesel models and, more recently, the rise in Alternative Fuel Vehicles.
Source: SMMT New Car Report 2012
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A10) The Uk's average new car fuel consumption in 2010 was 44.0 miles-per-gallon (mpg) (6.4 litres per 100 km) for petrol and 52.1 mpg for diesel vehicles (5.4 litres per 100 km).
Historic data can be viewed here.
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A11) Use the database on the Directgov website.
(Please note this database only includes information on new and used cars that were first registered on or after 1 March 2001).
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A12) Transport is responsible for approximately a quarter of the UK’s domestic CO2 emissions. Road transport makes up just over 90% of all domestic transport emissions with car travel accounting for over a half (58%) and heavy goods vehicle and light van traffic accounting for just under a third (30%) in 2009.
Source: Transport Energy and Environment Statistics 2011
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A13) Local air pollutants also need to be controlled to reduce risks to health, the environment and quality of life. As is the case with Greenhouse gas emissions, emissions from road transport accounts for the vast majority of air quality pollution from transport. Air pollutant emissions from transport have fallen considerably since 1990, mainly as result of cleaner road vehicles and road fuels.
Source: Transport Energy and Environment Statistics 2011
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A14) The internal combustion engine has dominated road transport over the past Century but with a need to tackle climate change and a need to end our reliance on fossil fuels, there is an environmental and an economic imperative to do things differently.
The Government is supporting and encouraging UK industry to develop and manufacture ultra-low carbon automotive technology. The technologies being developed include:-
Hybrid vehicles
A hybrid vehicle has a powertrain incorporating an energy storage mechanism, either electrical or mechanical, which is able to act as a complementary or alternative source of motive power.
Hydrogen and fuel cell vehicles
Hydrogen is the most plentiful element in the universe and present in all organic compounds and can be burnt directly in an internal combustion engine or used to generate electricity through a fuel cell. However, hydrogen must be extracted from the compounds it is attached to using technology that itself involves energy consumption.
Electric vehicles
Electric vehicles use electricity stored in a battery as their primary source of motive power.
Other gas-fuelled vehicles
Various other gases can be used in an alternative combusion engine to provide motive power. These include: liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), and natural gas in compressed (CNG) or liquefied (LNG) forms and bio-gas (or bio-methane).
There are considerable benefits in such technologies. Ultra-low carbon vehicles offer significant climate change benefits, reduce noise and air pollution, and have fewer resource depletion impacts due to reduced use of fossil fuels. They can also have lower running costs than petrol or diesel powered vehicles. However, they also have disadvantages over the currently powered vehicles - the purchase price of most commercially available ultra-low carbon vehicles is higher than that of conventional vehicles due to higher production costs; current ‘power batteries’ are expensive; there are range concerns about electrically powered vehicles; and a lack of re-charging points.
The RAC Foundation report Market delivery of ultra-low carbon vehicles in the UK looked at this issue in detail. Further advice on the potential of low carbon vehicle technology can also be found in the RAC Foundation report Driving down emissions.
In 2010 the RAC Foundation supported the Royal Automobile Club Brighton to London Future Car Challenge. An analysis of the energy consumption and CO2 emissions recorded on the run were published in the Foundation's Shades of Green report in May 2011.
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A15) At the end of 2011, there were 2,600 electric vehicles licensed; 102,300 hybrid vehicles licensed; and 50,000 gas powered vehicles licensed. The data can be viewed here.
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