Advert
The Board Members of the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) (the CEOs of thirteen car companies producing and marketing products around the world) have written to give support and encouragement to the UN-sponsored ministerial talks on climate change in Bali, Indonesia, saying they think it is vital that they work towards the kind of comprehensive agreement that the planet needs.
They continue to say that the climate change scenarios described in this year’s reports from the International Panel on Climate Change indicate that governments must embrace sound and holistic measures to follow on from the Kyoto agreement. Inevitably, any such package, which has to be global in its application, will shape the framework in which the motor industry, alongside many others, will make its contributions to carbon reduction.
ACEA says it is proud of its achievements in reducing greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles, and it is ready to build upon this in pursuit of still better products. It is keen to develop a partnership with policymakers based on a common vision of what the industry can achieve, how this could be enhanced by other policies and in what timeframe. Coherent public policies would, for example, encourage consumers to choose vehicles with carbon lowering technologies, boosting demand for advanced cars and for sustainable alternative fuels.
ACEA states that much of the ₏20 billion spent every year on research & development is dedicated to developing vehicles that emit less CO2 and will ultimately function wholly or largely without fossil fuels. These investments are made without losing sight of other important needs and requirements, such as increasing road safety, improving air quality and continued employment for the millions of workers in the automotive industry.
Widespread further innovations will be required across all sectors to challenge climate change and ACEA says it is fully focused to contribute. There is a need to be tremendously inventive: there is not just one sector, technology or measure that will solve climate change; the solutions are multiple and may also differ per region and person. In a framework that will enable sustained and increased research & development, ACES says with confidence that the automotive industry will meet the expectations of the customers and the societies in which it operates.
The ACEA Board consists of all CEOs of the thirteen member companies: BMW Group, DAF Trucks, Daimler, FIAT, Ford of Europe, General Motors Europe, MAN Nutzfahrzeuge, Porsche, PSA Peugeot Citroën, Renault, Scania, Volkswagen and Volvo Trucks. Toyota Motor Europe will join ACEA from January 2008.
