Carbon from U.S. cars increasing

New York, New York - A new report from Environmental Defense finds that the total annual C02 emissions from U.S. light trucks and cars have increased 25 per cent above 1990 levels, through 2003, and both the total and average emissions per vehicle continue to rise.

The increase is due to multiple factors, including stagnating fuel economy, increasing market share of light trucks, and an increase in vehicle miles travelled.

Among the report's key findings are that Nissan's new fleet-average C02 emissions rate increased the most among the "Big Six" firms, jumping 8.4 per cent between 1990 and 2003. Ford was second-worst, with its rate rising 7.7 per cent, followed by DaimlerChrysler with a rise of 6.8 per cent. Other automakers were GM at 6.3 per cent, Honda at 5.7 per cent, and Toyota with a rise of 2.9 per cent. General Motors and Ford, with the largest share of the market, have the largest total new fleet C02 emissions.

Source: CanadianDriver