At the bottom of this page, we provide the chapter summary for this portion of 'How to Live a Low-Carbon Life'. This provides some of the main conclusions from the material covered in the main text. In the rest of this page, we comment on new products, research findings and offer feedback from customers.
The Ford Focus Flexi-Fuel.
Ford is today (April 1st) advertising its new ethanol/petrol car. This model can run on both E85 (85% sugar beet ethanol and 15% petrol) and on conventional petrol. So if you can find an E85 pump, you buy E85, otherwise you top on ordinary petrol.
Ford claims that E85 is up to 80% more 'carbon efficient' than petrol. Can this be right? No - Ford is not telling the truth. Bio-ethanol in the UK is highly carbon intensive. It comes from sugar beet, which requires a lot of fossil fuel energy to fertilise and grow in the UK climate. The beet then needs huge amounts of energy to extract the sugar.
Most analysts think that bio-ethanol based on sugar beet results in small or non-existent CO2 savings. There's still some dispute over this, but I suspect that suger beet ethanol is more GHG intensive than conventional petrol. So, even if bio-ethanol was 100% from sugar beet, savings would be small or negative. But E85 is only 85% ethanol, so even if ethanol had no CO2 cost whatsoever, it could only avoid 85% of the GHGs. Ford's claim that the product is 'up to 80% more carbon efficient' is extremely dishonest. I have submitted a complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority to this effect. My book deals extensively with whether it is better to grow crops for biofuels or reforest agricultural land instead - showing, I hope, that it is far better to plant woodland than to grow sugar beet in East Anglia for bio-ethanol. (Please consult the note on biofuels below).
Ford cars, surprisingly perhaps, are not bad on carbon emissions. The Focus that forms the shell for the Flexi-Fuel version has about average fuel consumption for the UK. (See Average Emissions for new cars sold in 2006 below).
So buy the Focus for its quality and its reasonable emissions. Do not buy it as an environmentally friendly car. It is not.
Biofuels - a briefing note
Please click here to go to the page containing a link to our new note on biofuels.
Average emissions from new cars sold in 2006
(Written 27th January 2007)
The EU has a voluntary target for new car emissions in 2008. It hopes average cars will have CO2 output of less than 140 grammes per kilometre driven. This target has always looked impossible to achieve: new cars in the UK are now averaging about 167 grammes per kilometre.
The 2006 figures for the UK do show a significant fall from the previous year. In 2005, the number was 2.2 grammes higher at 169.4. But at the current rate of progress it will be 12 years before we hit the EU's 2008 target. (The Commission also talks of setting a target of 120 grammes for 2012).
By recent standards, the reduction in 2006 was impressive. The cause was probably mostly the swing away from larger cars and SUVs in favour of diesel and smaller engined models. Fuel efficiency progress was quite limited.
Detailed information on how improved fuel efficiency is affecting the total demand for forecourt petrol and diesel is not yet available for 2006. 2005 figures show that despite the increase of about 10% in average vehicle efficiency since 1997, total demand continued to grow. As diesel cars gain in popularity, petrol are sales are falling, but diesel is more than making up the difference. Total sales rose by 1% in volume during 2005, and this pattern probably continued into 2006.
A new electric car on sale
(Written January 13th 2007)
A 2 seater electric car, made by the French manufacturer Aixam Mega is on sale in the UK. Priced at just under £10,000, it is aimed squarely at owners within the London congestion charge zone. (Electric cars are exempt from the charge). Retailed in the UK by NICE, full details are available by clicking here.
Press commentary suggests that the vehicle is much better equipped than the successful G Wiz, previously the only electric car available in the London. The range of the new car is probably about 40 miles (60 km) in central London. The web site suggests that the electricity cost is about 1.5p per mile. Very roughly, this would give it emissions of about 60-70 grams a mile, or considerably less than half a standard vehicle.
Electric cars not only get exemption from the congestion charge, they also get free parking in some parts of London, no road tax and in some place can even get free charging.
Chapter Summary
The average car in the UK emits 180g of carbon dioxide every kilometre. Typical new cars are only very slightly better than this average. Change your car for a small (or medium-sized) diesel with manual transmission and you can get this number down to below 130g per kilometre. Such a car doing typical mileage will cut the emissions per person down to 0.9 tonnes from 1.2 tonnes. Reducing the car’s mileage down to, say, 7000 miles (11,300km) a year, rather than the UK average of 9000 miles (14,500km) and the figure goes to 0.7 tonnes. Hire a car or belong to a car club, and the number falls even further. Other choices, such as buying a hybrid electric car, can help to reduce emissions, but at a high financial cost.
