STUTTGART, Germany – The transport sector creates as much carbon dioxide as power generation, but faces far harsher punitive fines, said a representative from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association at the Uniti Mineral Oil Technology Congress here last week.
The European Union imposes fines on carmakers for every gram of CO2 emitted per kilometer above a limit of 130 grams. By 2020, that limit will be reduced to 95 grams, with fines of 95 (U.S. $116) per gram for going above it.
One way that car makers achieve CO2 savings is to ask lubricant formulators to develop products that protect car makers increasingly high-tech engines.
The transport sector as a whole contributes about a quarter of all CO2 emissions, roughly the same as the power generation sector, producing around 2.6 billion metric tons of CO2. Meanwhile, it costs around 245 billion per year for the transport sector to address that, making it one of the most expensive ways to reduce emissions, said Paul Greening, ACEAs emissions and fuels director, told delegates at the Uniti conference in Stuttgart on Tuesday.
The cost of reducing CO2 in the power generation, forestry and agriculture [sectors] is significantly lower, he said.
When we compare the progress of various sectors, we believe that the auto sector itself has been treated quite disproportionately, Greening continued.
Between 2005 and 2020 the car industry will have reduced CO2 emissions by 42 percent.