In reviewing its plans to reduce its CO2 emissions by 30 percent by 2030 in its 2007/8 Sustainability Report, Ford says building cleaner burning automobile engines is possible.
“Stabilizing greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations in the atmosphere … will not be achieved by holding current emission levels steady,” the report states. “It can only be achieved by significantly and continuously reducing GHG emissions over a period of decades.”
Ford is driving for a 30-percent reduction in US and EU new vehicle CO2 emissions, relative to the 2006 model year baseline, by 2020, which it says aligns with the company’s plans to make its engines cleaner burning.
Ford’s 30-percent reduction target also aligns with the new US Corporate Average Fuel Economy legislation and represents an equitable contribution toward reducing CO2 emissions, the company says.
The Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) of Ford’s US cars and trucks improved 5.9 percent for the 2007 model year compared to the 2006 model year, according to the report.
Additionally, since 2000, Ford has reduced its global operational energy use by 30 percent and CO2 emissions from its facilities by 39 percent, the report states.
Last year, Ford launched EcoBoost, an engine technology that mates direct injection and turbocharging to a gasoline engine to improve vehicle fuel economy and CO2 emissions. Ford said EcoBoost could deliver up to 20 percent better fuel economy and a 15-percent improvement in emissions, adding that customers could recoup their initial investment in EcoBoost through fuel savings in two and half years.