What's the news?
According to data published by Cartell.ie, the average CO2 emissions levels in Ireland are continuing to increase, based on new car registrations. Looking at the data from each year, including the first two months of 2019, the average CO2 figure from new cars has risen from its lowest level of 111g/km in 2017 to 115g/km this year. It is also the first time that there has been a year-on-year increase since 2004, but then the average figure was much higher at 166g/km.
Several factors could contribute to this latest increase. The continuing rise in popularity of larger and therefore heavier and higher-emitting crossovers and SUVs is one factor. The move away from diesel, which had contributed to the rapid drop in CO2 averages from 2007 to 2013, is another. Diesel vehicles do emit other harmful pollutants, but in this instance, we're explicitly talking about CO2 and new car registrations.
While the average of 115g/km is still significantly lower than the 166g/km average of 2004, it is concerning to see the figure continuing to climb. The increase in the number of electric vehicles is a positive sign, but these still only account for just over two per cent of all new vehicle registrations year-to-date.
Anything else?
Energy experts predict that Ireland's failure to significantly lower its carbon output will see it fail to reach its 2020 target, which could lead to fines from Europe of up to €600 million per year.
John Byrne from Cartell.ie said: "Remember, we are looking exclusively at new cars sold in Ireland so any arguments with respect to imported vehicles can be entirely discounted. We considered whether the average emissions are possibly increasing in line with a buying trend towards the purchase of more expensive vehicles, meaning these results are correlative with the general increase in the value of new vehicles sold. However, this wouldn't really explain the increase in emissions per se as manufacturers have invested considerable amounts of money to reduce emissions in their fleet in-line with overarching concerns for the environment globally."