CO₂ Check

Due to high demand, NRMA CarWise Reports come with a Carbon Emissions CO2 ratings check for every new car released in Australia since 2004. Find out here if the car you are looking to buy is a CO2 offender or not!

Nearly all of us have seen the August 2006 release of ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ by ex-US vice-president, Al Gore. What’s alarming is that we are now seeing such phenomenal weather extremes including intense storms, droughts and floods.

Vehicle emissions account for about 8 per cent of the total carbon dioxides released into the atmosphere, which contribute to global warming and extreme weather conditions. When you are considering buying a car, a quick CO2 check may help to ease your conscience and help you feel a little more comfortable with your choice.

Surprisingly, Australia was the slowest to take action in joining the Kyoto agreement. It’s fair to say that most Australian’s really want to help change the symptoms of global warming and for many of us we are willing to drop one or two things or adopt something new in our efforts to combat severe CO2 emissions. While we are not going to revert to the old horse and carriage, we do want to know how bad some cars are compared to others.

Green House Gases in Australia account for 28 tonnes per head. The world target is 2 Green House Gases per head.

What you get with a CO2 check

An NRMA CarWise Report will display CO2 data represented in grams/km. This data is only available for all Current New Model Passenger and Commercial vehicles released in Australia since 2004.

The way to compare a CO2 rating is by looking at the published rating of cars with a CO2 rating already.

While no amount of CO2 emissions is good, the less CO2 emissions emitted the better. By buying a vehicle with less CO2 emissions you will not only be helping the environment, but you’ll be helping to create demand for cars that are safer on the environment.

We’re heading in the right direction

Australia is working hard now to reduce its carbon emissions. In 2005 a new industry target was established to reduce the average CO2 emissions for all new light vehicles to 222g CO2/km by 2010. This covers a broad range of vehicles including cars, SUVs and light trucks as well as all fuel types including petrol, diesel, LPG and so on.

Plus, all new vehicles sold in Australia are now required to report emissions in terms of grams of CO2/km.

If you look at the chart below you’ll notice we’re doing well. In 2002 the National Average Carbon Emissions sat at 256g CO2/km. In 2007 we managed to drop to 226.1 g CO2/km.

Reference: www.fcai.com.au

National Average Carbon Emissions (NACE) for all new light vehicles sold in Australia for 2007 was 226.1 g CO2/km. Australia is aiming to achieve a target of an average 222 g CO2/km by 2010.

While in total, passenger vehicles account for less than 8 per cent of Australia’s total carbon emissions, the automotive industry has come together to help lower CO2s by introducing a new and broader target to reduce CO2 emissions of new vehicles by 2010. This has included changes in engine technology, growth in alternative fuel types and changes in vehicle design. As a result, over the past 5 years we have reduced our CO2 emissions by 10 per cent.

National Average Carbon Emission by year