The automotive industry’s global emissions are, on average, 50 percent higher than what they report, according to a new study from the environmental NGO Transport & Environment.
Unlike in other industries, where the bulk of an item’s emissions are created in the making of the product, automakers’ products continue to pollute over their lifetime. Indeed, nearly all of a vehicle’s emissions are currently created during its use. With new financial disclosure rules coming to the EU in 2023, automakers will soon be required to more accurately disclose the lifetime emissions of their products, which could come as a shock to investors and onlookers.
Automakers base their lifetime emissions estimates on a number of factors such as average vehicle size, where they are driven, and lifespan. Transport & Environment claims, though, that automakers use selective data to make emissions seem smaller than they really are. Toyota, for instance, bases the average emissions of its vehicles on a lifetime of just 100,000 km (62,137 miles), per T&E.
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