The green badges of the DGT are awarded to polluting vehicles, says Greenpeace
The arbitrariness of the ‘ecological’ labels that the General Directorate of Traffic (DGT) grants to cars according to its emissions, it outrages more and more entities, both consumers and environmental conservation, who consider the current system “a hoax”. And the paradox is that green labels are awarded to notoriously polluting vehicleswhile others who are much less so are marginalized in these badges, which gives citizens a misleading and confusing image.
The Organization of Consumers and Users (OCU) already warned recently that there are vehicles that, despite not having the Eco or Zero Emissions General Directorate of Traffic (DGT) badge, they pollute less than others that do enjoy the label. OCU denounces that for the Awarding of the label only takes into account the technology used in the cars and not the actual impact of the emissions they produce.
In this way, the organization considers that the current system of awarding labels is “unfair”, because many high-power non-plug-in hybrid cars pollute more than the new gasoline engines of low-power vehicles. And large displacement plug-in hybrids also pollute more, when they deplete their battery (after about 40 kilometers). Despite this, they enjoy a green label.
The OCU considers that the system for awarding environmental labels should be reviewed so that they can fulfill their objective, “which is none other than classifying vehicles according to their real environmental impact”.
Last week, Greenpeace activists unfurled a banner in the form of an eco-label for vehicles from the General Directorate of Traffic (DGT) over dozens of cars at the facilities of a large automotive group in Villaverde (Madrid), an action with which they denounce that environmental labels “are not faithful” in terms of pollution.
Under the text “ECO tongo. DGT changes the labels now!”, the environmental organization has denounced the “green washing” that the DGT labels entail by qualifying as ECO models “that are not”, such as gas or the microhybrids, which have tax breaks and can freely access the Low Emission Zones of the cities, which will be mandatory from January 2023 in 150 cities.
The environmental NGO demands that the Government “correct” and demands that the DGT reform the environmental labels of vehicles “as promised in 2020” and do not give in to pressure from the automobile industry, “which managed to stop the initiative”, according to a Greenpeace statement.
Gas is not ecological
Current labeling is a “strainer” for polluting technologies, such as fossil gas -badly called natural- and that the industry “disguises” as green and confuses the consumersince with these characteristics, any vehicle, van or truck that runs on liquefied or compressed gas “enjoys” the DGT ECO label, with which they access “important” tax and regulatory benefits.
However, they indicate vehicles that run on gas release “large amounts” of polluting and dangerous particleswhich according to health scientists are associated with diseases such as cancer, Alzheimer’s or heart and respiratory diseases, in addition to contributing in a similar way as diesel or gasoline vehicles to the climate crisis.
According to the NGO, the situation shows that the DGT “designs its labels putting the interests of the motor industry before the health of people and the protection of the environment”.
The environmental organization has recalled that in 2020, after the Government’s announcement of its intention to reform the DGT labels, entities such as Greenpeace, Fundación Renovables, Ecodes, Ecologistas en Acción and Transport & Environment launched a proposal that corrected the system’s failures and incorporated carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions as a criterion for environmental classification.
However, the DGT decided to “ignore” the environmental recommendations and blocked the reform of the labels under the pretext of “agreeing on the labeling criteria with the manufacturers”.
“The DGT has folded to the industry & rdquor;
“The DGT has bowed to the interests of the industry to block this review, allowing thousands of polluting vehicles to be labeled as ZERO and ECO when they are not», warned the person in charge of the Greenpeace mobility campaign, Adrián Fernández.
The coordinator of Greenpeace’s fossil fuel campaign, Francisco del Pozo, has asserted that the DGT has become a “greenwashing advertising agency for the motor industry.” The labels are just one of the gears of the immense “washing machine” with which the sector passes off polluting vehicles as clean ones.”
Following a study conducted by Harvard University on greenwashing and symbolism to profit from the climate crisis in the social networks of car brands, along with European airlines and energy companies, Greenpeace and 40 other organizations are promoting a European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI)for its acronym in English), to call for a new tobacco-like law that would ban advertising and sponsorship of fossil fuels in the European Union.
What does each of the badges mean?
1. 0 emissions label, Blue. Identifies the most efficient vehicles. They will be entitled to this label battery electric (BEV), extended range electric (REEV), plug-in hybrid electric (PHEV) with a range of 40 km or fuel cell vehicles.
two. eco-label. Next on the efficiency ladder, these are mostly hybrid vehicles, gas or both. Plug-in electric vehicles with autonomy of less than 40 km, non-plug-in hybrids (HEV), vehicles powered by natural gas and gas (CNG and LNG) or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) will be entitled to this label. They must meet the criteria of label C.
3. Label C, Green. Internal combustion vehicles that comply with the latest EURO emissions. Passenger cars and light petrol vans registered as of January 2006 and diesel as of September 2015 will be entitled to this label. Vehicles with more than 8 seats and heavy vehicles, both petrol and diesel, registered as of 2014.
Four. Label B, Yellow. Internal combustion vehicles that, although they do not comply with the latest EURO emissions specifications, do comply with previous ones. Passenger cars and light gasoline vans registered from January 1, 2001 and diesel from 2006 will be entitled to this label. Vehicles with more than 8 seats and heavy both gasoline and diesel, registered since 2006.
The rest of the vehicles, the 50% most polluting, are not entitled to any type of badge as they do not meet the requirements to be labeled as a clean vehicle.
…..
Environment section contact: [email protected]