“Green” cars and alternative fuels

In September this year, the European Parliament voted to make carmakers play a much greater role in tackling climate change and rejected car industry attempts to weaken proposed legislation on the fuel efficiency of new cars.

With an overwhelming majority (46 to 19), the Parliament's Environment Committee backed the European Commission's proposal to cut average emissions from new cars to no more than 130 grammes of carbon dioxide per kilometre (g CO2/km) by 2012. Proposals to postpone the deadline to 2015 and to lower proposed penalties for car manufacturers not meeting this target were rejected. The Committee also said that average emissions in 2020 should be no more than 95g CO2/km, subject to a review in 2014.

For some time, car manufacturers have been making claims for the eco-friendliness of their cars – and some have had their knuckles rapped: Renault, for instance, who advertised their Twingo showing leaves floating out of its tailpipe against a green background. The Advertising Standards Authority judged this to be misleading.

But can cars ever be “green”? And, with the prospect of peak oil looming, what are the alternatives? Biofuels looked good once .... Or should we be preparing for a life that doesn't centre round the motor car?