Manufacture, disposal ‘should count in car’s lifetime emissions’

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The European Parliament’s Environment Committee (ENVI) begins its negotiations on vehicle CO2 emissions today, Wednesday May 22.

WorldAutoSteel is urging ENVI to uphold the European Parliament’s acknowledgement of the importance of a life-cycle assessment in emissions legislation after 2020.

“A growing number of scientific studies show that, already, 16% of all emissions relating to passenger cars are not covered by tailpipe regulations,” WorldAutoSteel said.

Studies have recently suggested that electric cars made of steel could be as light as their aluminium counterparts.

The life-cycle approach to automotive emissions assessment would favour steel over aluminium as steel production is generally less carbon-intensive than aluminium production.

Steel carbon intensity ranges from 1.8-12 tonnes of CO2 per tonne of steel produced, according to the Carbon Trust.

Aluminium carbon intensity varies between 1 tonne and 20 tonnes of CO2 per tonne of aluminium produced, the Trust said.