U.S.
Emits Half of Car-Caused Greenhouse Gas:
America has lower fuel standards than any industrialized
nation – including
China
Originally published by the LA Times
American cars
and pickup trucks are responsible for nearly half of the greenhouse
gases emitted by automobiles globally, even though the nation's
vehicles make up just 30% of the nearly 700 million cars in use,
according to a new report by Environmental Defense.
Cars in the
U.S. are driven more miles, face lower fuel economy standards
and use fuel with more carbon than many of those driven in other
countries, the authors found. According to the report by the
environmental group, due out today, U.S. cars and light trucks
were driven 2.6 trillion miles in 2004, equal to driving back
and forth to Pluto more than 470 times.
The report's
authors hope their findings will bolster efforts in Congress
to require federal regulators to raise fuel economy standards
for vehicles and set a mandatory cap on greenhouse gases from
all sources. Numerous studies have linked carbon dioxide emissions
from burning of fossil fuels such as gasoline to global warming.
One surprising
finding was that small cars emitted more carbon dioxide than
SUVs, 25% of the total compared with 21%. That is because there
are more older small vehicles with higher emissions still in
service, said lead author John DeCicco, a mechanical engineer
specializing in automobile research.
"Even
though SUVs get worse fuel economy and burn more gas, there's
roughly twice as many small cars in operation," he said.
That will change
in a few years based on car scrapping rates, he predicted, with
SUVs bought over the last 10 to 15 years taking the lead, even
if consumers begin buying small cars again because of sharply
higher fuel prices.
"As Americans
we're going to be living down the SUV boom for a long time," he
said. "The implication is that we can't turn the emissions
problem on a dime…. It takes a generation."
The study concludes
that vehicles manufactured by the nation's Big Three automakers — General
Motors, Ford and DaimlerChrysler — produce the most emissions,
with Toyota ranked fourth.
Nearly one-third
of the emissions came from vehicles made by GM.
GM spokesman Dave Barthmuss said he had not seen the report and
did not know whether the company's cars created the highest percentage
of greenhouse gas emissions. But he added that if it was true,
it would make sense because GM sold the most cars.
"Certainly the fact that we have the most cars on the road
contributes, I'm sure, to these findings," he said. "As
the world's largest automaker it's no surprise."
He said the company was committed to cutting greenhouse gas emissions
through continued research and development of alternative fuels
and technologies to replace gasoline and the internal combustion
engine. He said the company would like to see greenhouse gases
completely eliminated eventually with the development of hydrogen-powered
fuel cell vehicles that could be available for commercial sale
within 10 years.
Automakers
said they were surprised to hear that small cars emitted more
carbon dioxide than SUVs. In addition to the fact that there
were more on the road, Barthmuss said, "if you get 30 miles
to the gallon … people will drive more, drive farther. The
more fuel efficient the vehicle, the more inclined you are to drive.
And the more you drive, the more fuel you burn. It's almost a Catch-22."
DeCicco said: "We're not trying to paint a bull's-eye on
GM's hide…. Everyone has a role to play, from the auto manufacturers
to Joe the consumer buying a new car."
He said the study was designed to show for the first time the
huge amount of carbon dioxide released by American cars and to
stimulate passage of tougher laws and policies aimed at reducing
it. The Senate last year passed a nonbinding resolution to cap
emissions, but bipartisan efforts to pass a law have thus far failed.
Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Los Angeles) last week introduced a version
that would freeze allowable levels of greenhouse gas emissions
in 2010, reduce them by 2% each year through 2020, then reduce
them further by 5% annually through 2050.
The act would achieve the targets through a cap-and-trade program
along with measures to advance renewable energy, energy efficiency
and cleaner cars.
Auto industry
spokesmen did not respond to requests for comment on such a cap.
The companies have fought efforts to pass tougher federal fuel
economy standards and is suing California and several other states
to block state-by-state tailpipe emission laws.
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