Interesting blog post from Guardian UK – Green Living Blog about how much carbon emissions are released in building build a brand new car (from mining of the ore, transporting all the raw materials and parts, all the way to the final assembly). It says that in production it releases as much carbon emissions as when using the vehicle over its life. The conclusion tells us that driving our older car (keeping it maintained and running properly) will do more to reduce our carbon footprint than repeatedly buying newer cars (even if more efficient).
Here’s some estimates of emissions released in creating a small car, mid-size car and a full size SUV:
- 6 tonnes CO2e: Citroen C1, basic spec (similar to US sub-compact car)
- 17 tonnes CO2e: Ford Mondeo, medium spec (stablemate to the Ford Fusion)
- 35 tonnes CO2e: Land Rover Discovery, top of the range (Large v8 powered SUV)
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