Carbon Nation: A Wake-up Call for Automakers

Posted: 01-Aug-2002; Updated: 12-Mar-2007

It may be common knowledge that the United States is the world's largest greenhouse gas polluter - sending a quarter of the world's carbon dioxide (CO₂) out into the atmosphere, where it and other greenhouse gases form a heat-trapping blanket around the earth. But did you know that American cars and light trucks alone emit more carbon dioxide than almost every other nation on earth?

To grasp the enormity of the problem, consider this: Chrysler's Jeep Grand Cherokee, weighing just under two tons, emits over three times its body weight in CO₂ per year. Now imagine all the millions of cars on the road today, and you start to get the picture. Clearly, controlling CO₂ emissions from cars and light trucks by improving their fuel efficiency would be one of the most important steps we can take to curb global warming, as well as reducing our country's dependence on oil imports.

A new report from Environmental Defense called Automakers' Corporate Carbon Burdens introduces the notion of a corporate carbon burden - how much carbon a car maker's fleet will pollute over the course of its life. Says co-author and car expert John DeCicco, "we cannot affix blame on SUVs alone or expect hybrid cars alone to solve the problem, but rather, we need to lift all ships, so to speak - all cars, trucks, SUVs, minivans, pickups - to higher efficiency levels. That would lower CO₂ emissions and reduce the carbon burden in a significant way."