|
›
Climate expert demands: Include MAC in car tax |
 |
A new CO2-based car tax in Germany has to include emissions from the A/C system to reflect realistic environmental and economic costs, Hans-Jochen Luhmann, energy expert at the prestigious Wuppertal Institute, told the Associated Press.
|
2007-11-22
|
The car tax currently discussed by German policy makers is unrealistic as it does not reflect the emissions of fluorinated gases caused by Mobile Air conditioning (MAC) and real-life driving conditions that are not included in present standardized fuel consumption values. The A/C system alone consumes a converted 1,5 liters of extra fuel per 100 km both through refrigerant leakage and energy used for operation. In total, a car's real emissions (including MAC, faster driving etc.) would amount to 60-70 grams of extra CO2 per kilometre, a substantial contribution to global warming ignored by present legal proposals. As a result, a car currently taxed as causing 100 g/km of CO2 is emitting 160 g/km in reality, Luhmann states.
"This is not bits and pieces", he told the Associated Press, before urging the German government to include Mobile Air Conditioning (MAC) and real life driving conditions in the planned car tax. To bridge the period until an exact calculation of the MAC emissions is possible, Luhmann proposes to use standard values to be added to a car's present CO2 value. The resulting higher limit for tax breaks would be a real incentive for the use and purchase of environmentally friendly air conditioning systems, he is convinced.
CO2 air conditioning will benefit car suppliers
|
The use of sustainable climate control systems would not only benefit the environment but also strengthen automotive suppliers investing in climate-friendly A/C. "The (economic) potential is substantial", he states, specifically mentioning the efforts of suppliers developing CO2-based MAC systems. He assumes that German carmakers will use R744 as from 2011 in serial production to comply with an EU legislation mandating the phase-out of high global warming refrigerants.
Background
|
|
|
Hans-Jochen Luhmannn is Project Co-ordinator for Future Energy and Mobility Structures at the Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy. The institute, founded in 1991, is a renowned organization to explore and develop models, strategies and instruments supporting sustainable development at a local, national and international level. The Wuppertal Institute cooperates with the United Nations Environment Programme, the European Commission, and the German Ministry for the Environment, amongst others.
|
More information:
› Read the original AP interview (GERMAN)
|
