ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE
Did You Know?
Over the past decade- oil imports into California have grown from roughly 10 percent in 1996 to nearly 42 percent in 2005.
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GLOBAL WARMING DEFINITIONS:
GLOBAL WARMING
Greenhouse gases (ghg) trap heat in the atmosphere, thereby creating a greenhouse effect known as global warming. Some greenhouse gases occur naturally and are emitted in the atmosphere through natural processes and human activities. Other greenhouse gases are created only through human activities. Scientists are certain that human activities are changing the composition of the atmosphere and that increasing the concentration of greenhouse gases will eventually change the planet’s climate.
GREENHOUSE GASES
Greenhouse gases (ghg) emitted from vehicles include carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (NO2), and hydroflurocarbons (HFCs) from air conditioner refrigerant. Greenhouse gas emissions are the sum of all the ghg emissions and are identified as the CO2-equivalent value
GLOBAL WARMING SCORE
The Global Warming score is based on the sum of a vehicles greenhouse gas emissions which are identified as the CO2-equivalent value.
Beginning in 2009 in California, all new vehicles are required to display a global warming score. The global warming score ranks each vehicle’s CO2-equivalent value on a scale of 1 – 10 (10 being the cleanest) relative to all other vehicles within the current model year. The scores are also properly adjusted to reflect the contribution of greenhouse gas emissions from the production and distribution of the fuel type used.
The table below shows the CO2-equivalent emission levels for each global warming score. The average vehicle available in California today will get a global warming score of 5.
| Global Warming Score |
CO2 – equivalent Grams per mile |
| 10 |
Less than 200 |
| 9 |
200-239 |
| 8 |
240-279 |
| 7 |
280-319 |
| 6 |
320-359 |
| 5 |
360-399 |
| 4 |
400-439 |
| 3 |
440-479 |
| 2 |
480-519 |
| 1 |
520 and up |
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