A couple of months ago, we mentioned several efforts and initiatives to develop labels for helping consumers select cars based upon emissions. Now the French Ministry of Ecology and Sustainable Development has introduced CO2 labels which are legally required to be displayed on all automobiles produced in France, effective immediately.
The color-coded labels will rank cars according to CO2 emissions per kilometer. French cars made today produce around 152g of CO2 per kilometer on average, compared with the general EU average of 160g/km. The hope is that compulsory labeling will accelerate existing efforts to improve auto emissions on new cars produced in the EU, where such indicators are currently voluntary. In July, another labeling scheme will be introduced to indicate energy efficiency in French homes.
