A report from a European automotive industry website, Supplierbusiness.com, stated that a goal of lowering CO2 emissions is consuming "50% of R&D spending at European carmakers." Furthermore, "regulators are considering further regulations - a reduction in particulate emissions, for example, or a shift to CO2 air-conditioning systems that will make it even more difficult to achieve the CO2 reduction targets." A number of exciting new -- but costly to develop -- fuel savings technologies are just now coming to market in the United States. If automakers devote significant portions of their R&D budget to achieve short-term environmental goals, the result could be delays in bringing more advanced technologies to market. The long term impact of achieving short-term environmental benefits could be very costly, not only to manufacturers and their customers but also to environment.
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12-16-2003, 01:02 PM
