Pros and cons for car industry budget boost: the green argument

David Adam
The Guardian, Tuesday 7 April 2009

Will scrapping older cars and encouraging people to buy a new replacement help the environment? It can sound a seductive idea, but the picture is mixed.
It is certainly true that newer cars are, on average, cleaner than older models. More efficient engines and other changes have helped to reduce average carbon emissions by 17% since 1997. The claimed environmental benefits of a scrappage scheme demand that drivers replace like-for-like, and do not take the opportunity to buy a bigger and more powerful model.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders says motorists who take advantage of the scheme would probably go for greener cars. Encouraged by a similar cash-for-scrap initiative in Germany, 80% of buyers opted to spend less than £10,000, which is at the smaller, less polluting end of the scale. The society believes a similar picture would emerge in Britain. "The majority of people with cars over nine years old are not likely to buy something for more than £10,000. They won't have the budget," a spokesperson says.
Mile for mile, new cars may be less polluting, but what about the carbon emissions produced in their manufacture? The SMMT quotes reports that show pollution produced in making a car contributes 5% of its overall carbon emissions; critics argue the figure is closer to 25% and some suggest that the greenest moment to get rid of a car is when it reaches 18 years old.
Whichever is true, eco-friendly drivers with a new car face a paradox: the per-mile carbon savings turn into a genuine environmental benefit only after the car has been driven for tens of thousands of carbon-heavy miles.