Switzerland to push for car emissions reductions

The Swiss Environment Agency is working on a rank of the most eco-friendly vehicle models. The list adds up to efforts to tackle car emissions through stricter legislation, which also include new emission labels and taxation.

The draft ranking, to be released officially by end-2008, evaluates 6,000 vehicles according to their overall environmental impact, taking into account not only CO₂ emissions from driving, but also noise levels and greenhouse gas emissions due to fuel production. The list, based on Switzerland's new "Criteria for energy-efficient and low-emissive vehicles (KeeF)", is thus the country’s first official ranking based on an integrated approach. It does not, however, account for the energy necessary to produce a car.

The ranking is the latest in a series of measures to cut car emissions in Switzerland. The new KeeF criteria form part of a plan to revise existing energy labels on new cars and introduce CO₂-based taxation. Switzerland plans new emission labels and taxation

Since 2002, all new cars in Switzerland have to display an energy label similar to those on domestic appliances to help buyers choose the most fuel-efficient models. Given the label's limited impact on the reduction of fuel consumption, the Swiss government has decided to replace the energy label with a more comprehensive "environment label" by 2010. As a major change to the current label, the new label would only reflect the overall climate impact and ecological performance of a car without taking into account its size or weight. The Swiss government has already announced to use the new environmental criteria as a basis for calculating regional vehicles taxes and federal import charges. Under the new tax scheme, heavily polluting vehicles would receive an additional tax burden.