U.S. Lags Behind Japan, Europe in Emissions and Efficiency

A study released by automotive-data firm JATO Dynamics highlights just how woefully far behind the United States is when it comes to the emissions and efficiency standards of its cars when compared to Europe and Japan.

In the past year, Europe has decreased its automotive carbon emissions for new cars by an average of 0.11 tons per car, while Japan has pushed the mark back by 0.06 tons. Europe’s biggest markets — France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK — are averaging CO2 emissions for new cars of 3.26 tons per year since the beginning of this year, based on 12,000 miles per year. Japan’s figure is at 3.10 tons per year for new cars.

The average carbon emissions for a new car, minivan or SUV in the U.S.? It’s 5.77 tons per year over the same period.

While the average fuel efficiency for all cars, minivans and SUVs in Europe and Japan hovers at just over 40 mpg, the average in the U.S. stands at 22.6 mpg. That figure does not include the truck market.

JATO contributes this to low U.S. gas prices (even when they were over $4 per gallon, that was cheap compared to Europe), a historic inclination toward larger vehicles by consumers, and a poor selection of fuel-efficient vehicles on the market. The Europeans and Japanese, meanwhile, have been building smaller cars and far more diesels.

While the American auto industry struggles to find its feet before the noose tightens further, these numbers offer a sober assessment of how far the U.S. has to go to catch up in emissions and efficiency standards.

U.S. Car Market 'Half' as Green (JATO Dynamics)

Comments

While I do not doubt the facts, this posting only focuses on one aspect of the entire issue. The US is not Europe or Japan for better or worse. We do not have the benefit of a mass transit system that can relieve the burden of people using cars. We do not have the benefit of urban structures that are not dependent on people using cars. We are lagging in CO2 emissions yet we exceed Europe's standards for other measures of air pollutants. I do not know that about Japan. It's funny how the picture is of a smog filled city horizon. I did not realize CO2 created smog. We do not have a government which emphasizes reduction in CO2 like the EU does. If we did then diesels would be more prevalent here. We do have a mindset where bigger is better and that mindset is what will take longest to change and will be the most difficult.

I don't think the U.S. should be worried about CO2 emmision, really. CO2 is a main process of photosynthesis in plants and bacteria and is actually benificial to agriculture and vegetated areas. I also don't agree with European or any other peoples standards being pushed on the American population. So far, historically they haven't really done much that impresses me or many other Americans who stop to think about their daily lives and world views. As far as I'm concerned the idea of a gov't passing laws on things like that are ok to an extent, but for the most part are just a taxing engine that is nothing more than a phantom used to extort the populace out of more money for itself. I also truly believe that the market will indeed control such things on its own as people will change their habits according to what they can or are willing to pay for. The U.S. auto industry is essentially pricing itself out of many buyers for several reasons. One would be its rediculous contracts with union labor (while the people did work their tails off for them, they could have invested in their own retirement, not to mention the rediculously high false bottom on the price of current labor that can only be held by union members, who have negotiated somewhere around $80 and hour for their employess here. The markets would adjust to wages of the populace or price itself out of business like the U.S. car industry.), another would be just plain over pricing of the product b/c of brand name, and a third would be cafe standards that are imposed on them by the gov't (not that those aren't beneficial as well). The cafe standards impose rules and regulations for certain mileage and while that is good for the consumer on that end it creates a need for lighter, stronger components in the vehicles made which in turn translates to higher prices for those materials. For the most part I wouldn't get into a normal vehicle from Europe (obviously excluding Mercedes, BMW, and Aston Martin...which are the only ones really sold in the U.S. markets b/c of their standards) based simply on size and percieved safety. Their cars are cheap and get good mileage but they're no more than a motorcycle engine strapped to something a little larger than a go cart.

Brenden-

"I don't think the U.S. should be worried about CO2 emmision, really. CO2 is a main process of photosynthesis in plants and bacteria and is actually benificial to agriculture and vegetated areas."

Shame on you Brenden. You know better. Shame on you.

Dan-
Re: "Shame on you Brenden. You know better. Shame on you."
Pick up an introductory biochemistry or agricultural science textbook and study the sections on metabolic pathways, Calvin Cycle in particular.

You know better.

Easy Dan, I realize that it can be bad for other living creatures, but I did do my research before I wrote that. It has to be in a large enough concentration to actually start being dangerous (about 5% I believe, and right now the earth is at about .0036%) we're a ways off. These links may help a bit...

For photosynthesis, the calvin cycle all that
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photosynthesis

and for CO2
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CO2

Right on Brendan!

Yeah right on Brendan! You must be smarter than thousands of scientists out there who continually support that too much CO2 is bad. I'm sure you did a ton of research before posting on a blog about cars.

Right, rangerxlt and Bloke, who can't even copy and paste "Brenden" correctly, should be trusted to have functional brains.

And ttc, other than you 3 and maybe your mothers, who is replanting the trees and replacing the plants at the same pace that we are destroying them?

CO2 is partially a marker of how much pollution we are creating. It's a complex issue that nobody fully understands yet. Bloke, you might be smarter than "thousands of scientists out there," but you are not helping. What are you doing to help make our world a better place to live?

Dl, functional is a relative term. I believe CO2 is a big problem, not just a complex one. What am I doing for you? I am trying to make sure that I raise an issue any time someone disputes a major scientific hypothesis by saying I studied it. And don't worry, Brenden knows who I am talking to.

This is a transcript of Glenn Beck interviewing the founder of the Weather channel. Enjoy.

The Weather Channel founder, the guy who founded the Weather Channel, he's a meteorologist. He's just not some businessman who went, hey, we can make money on the weather. He's the Weather Channel founder. He wrote, "Global warming is the greatest scam in history." I want to read this letter to you. His name is John Coleman. He said, "It is the greatest scam in history. I am amazed, appalled and highly offended by it. Global Warming; It is a SCAM. Some dastardly scientists with environmental and political motives manipulated long term scientific data to create an illusion of rapid global warming. Other scientists of the same environmental whacko type jumped into the circle to support and broaden the “research” to further enhance the totally slanted, bogus global warming claims. Their friends in government steered huge research grants their way to keep the movement going. Soon they claimed to be a consensus.
HYDRO-CARBON POWERED ECO-VEHICLE STICKER
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Environmental extremists, notable politicians among them, then teamed up with movie, media and other liberal, environmentalist journalists to create this wild “scientific” scenario of the civilization threatening environmental consequences from Global Warming unless we adhere to their radical agenda. Now their ridiculous manipulated science has been accepted as fact and become a cornerstone issue for CNN, CBS, NBC, the Democratic Political Party, the Governor of California, school teachers and, in many cases, well informed but very gullible environmentally conscientious citizens. Only one reporter at ABC has been allowed to counter the Global Warming frenzy with one 15 minutes documentary segment.

I do not oppose environmentalism. I do not oppose the political positions of either party. However, Global Warming, i.e. Climate Change, is not about environmentalism or politics. It is not a religion. It is not something you “believe in.” It is science; the science of meteorology. This is my field of lifelong expertise. And I am telling you Global Warming is a nonevent, a manufactured crisis and a total scam. I say this knowing you probably won’t believe me, a mere TV weatherman, challenging a Nobel Prize, Academy Award and Emmy Award winning former Vice President of United States. So be it.

I have read dozens of scientific papers. I have talked with numerous scientists. I have studied. I have thought about it. I know I am correct. There is no run away climate change. The impact of humans on climate is not catastrophic. Our planet is not in peril. I am incensed by the incredible media glamour, the politically correct silliness and rude dismissal of counter arguments by the high priest of Global Warming.

As the temperature rises, polar ice cap melting, coastal flooding and super storm pattern all fail to occur as predicted everyone will come to realize we have been duped.

The sky is not falling. All natural cycles, drifts in climate are as much, if not more responsible for any climate changes underway. I strongly believe that the next 20 years are equally as likely to see a cooling trend as they are to see a warming trend."

That again is from John Coleman, the founder of the Weather Channel. But he's, I'm sure, in with big oil or he's an idiot or he's just naive or he is just trying to further someone else's agenda. Let's believe all the environmentalists. Yet there's no question that global warming -- that the globe has warmed in the last 100 years. The problem is the warmest date on record in the last 100 years was 1934. 1934 was the warmest year in America. 1934. If it's warming, shouldn't it have been warmer? They said it was 1998 but unfortunately that's not true. One of the gold standard from NASA for Al Gore got that one wrong, later had to correct it. Wouldn't it be getting warmer now? How's that possible?

And you might try this one too, also from Glenn Beck.

GLENN: Did you see the paper today, you know, the Earth, one third of all animal and plant species is going to be dead. The planet is dying and we're running out of time and Al Gore and the IPCC has come out with a new report. This is the same science that they used last time. This is just an update of the report that they've already issued over and over that, this is it; final warning; running out of time.

London Times, or is it the Telegraph, today says that the only solution is taxes. That's it. Taxes. Wow. Is that a frightening thing, global taxes. Let me tell you what global warming is. The Earth is getting warmer. The Earth has always gotten warmer and then it has gotten warmer and then it has gotten colder. For instance, "Time" magazine wrote in 1924 about global warming -- I'm sorry, global cooling. And then in '39 it was global warming. And then in '74 it was global cooling and then it's warming again. The "New York Times" did the same thing, 1924, stories all about global cooling. 35, global warming. '75, global cooling. Today it's warming again. It happens over and over and over again, but they have so captured the imagination and the fear of people that we're all going to be wiped off the face of the planet and it is a lie! It is a lie! But don't take my word for it. I'm going to give you just the phrases from the environmentalists that should open your mind and open up your eyes and be able to arm you with being able to save the open-minded people that are left, the ones that have been duped, the ones who don't know. They are all good intentioned but they are being useful idiots. Let me give you some of them.

This comes from Canada's former environmental minister, Christine Stewart. Quote: Climate change provides the greatest chance to bring about justice and equality in the world.

Excuse me? Climate change is the greatest chance to bring justice and equality in the world? How is that, Christine Stewart? Quote, same person. This is the former environmentalist of Canada. Quote: No matter if the science is all phony, there is still collateral environmental benefits to global warming policies.

Quote, Stephen Schneider: To capture the public imagination, we have to offer up some scary scenarios, make simplified dramatic statements and little mention of any doubts one might have. Each of us has to decide the right balance between being effective and being honest.

Who is Stephen Schneider? He was the lead UN IPCC report author and climate alarmist. In 2007 he is still a major role. In fact, Stu, correct me. I don't want to get this one wrong. Still the lead guy in this latest?

STU: He was a lead author, yeah. This is also one of the guys who authored one of the original reports that started the global cooling scare of the Seventies, still one of the lead guys.

GLENN: Dave Foreman, founder of Earth First: Phasing out the human race will solve every problem on Earth, social and environmental. Jacques Chirac: Kyoto is the first component of an authentic global governance. Prince Philip, World Wildlife Federation, which, World Wildlife, WWF, that's why it's WWE, these guys. Prince Philip: If I were reincarnated, I would come back, return to the Earth as a killer virus to lower human population levels. This comes from George Monbiot, environmental author last year: Every time someone dies as a result of floods in Bangladesh airline executives should be dragged out of office and concerned. Helen Cox, Union of Concerned Scientists, free enterprise really means rich people get richer. They have freedom to exploit and psychologically rape their fellow human beings in the process. Capitalism is destroying the Earth. Every time you turn on an electric outlet, you are making another brainless baby. Michael Oppenheimer, Environmental Defense Fund: The only hope for the world is to make sure there is not another United States. We cannot let other countries have the same number of cars, the amount of industrialization we have in the U.S. we must stop third world countries right where they are.

This is the goal of the environmental movement, to stop America, to stop development, to stop the Third World, to redistribute the wealth, to take your money and give it to an organization that can better decide how it should be distributed. It is the global movement for justice and equality. Now, that's not what your neighbor thinks that has the, you know, Go Green and, you know, the Prius or whatever. That's not what they think, but that's the truth and at some point Americans have got to unite and stand with the truth. There is no dismissing these comments.

By the way, you want these comments? These are just a few of them in the first chapter, the only chapter about global warming, but the first chapter of "An Inconvenient Book." You've got to spread this news because gang, no pun intended, they are turning up the heat. They know that the time to strike is now, the time to get these treaties through are now. I don't care if it's a Republican or Democrat. The Republicans are starting to go down this road because so many Americans have been co-opted into this lie that the Republicans are going to have absolutely no spine and they're going to go right along with it. This is a plot from the far, far left, and you have no idea. Do we have the audio of John Edwards from this weekend where he said this is going to cause great pain, higher energy prices, higher gas prices, higher food prices, we're going to pay higher taxes but we've got to do it and there may be more on the horizon that we don't even know but we've got to do it. You have no concept of what is right around the corner, and what is right around the corner is the loss of sovereignty. It is about the destruction of the United States of America.

Hah, you used a Glenn Beck interview as a basis for global policy. That is humorous.

Not only that, but that fact that all european cars are simply bike engines strapped to a go-kart made me smile too. We seem to have discovered a new stand-up comedy legend.

In my experience, the refinemet levels of small Euroepan cars (even the french ones) are much, MUCH better than the equivilent US models. I'm not saying anything about long term reliability, of course.

Brenden, sorry but I could only read 3 sentences of what you pasted.

Regardless, is it possible that somehow our "kind" of pollution is much higher in CO2 content compared to the European "kind" of pollution, so that even though our CO2 emissions are higher, we are not really polluting much?

Otherwise, like I said, CO2 is possibly more useful as a marker of how badly we are polluting the environment, e.g. car emissions are more easily measured by measuring CO2 levels.

I don't want to get into politics, but for the last 8 years we have taken many steps back on the issue of environment (notice how the media just kind of quit talking about our progress, or lack thereof, in protecting the environment?). CO2 levels are just a sign that we are shamelessly selfish

Brenden, ttc-
Wow... apparently you don't know better.
The problem with CO2 has nothing to do with it being used by (or toxic to) living organisms. If you really think that this is why we're addressing atmospheric CO2 levels, you haven't been paying attention.