Merkel Urges Germans To Buy Greener Cars

Germans should buy more fuel-efficient cars, Chancellor Angela Merkel said, even though her government is fighting European Union efforts to force down carbon dioxide emissions.

Merkel, who regularly defends Germany’s powerful luxury car industry against European Commission plans to clamp down on CO2 emissions, said more efficient cars could provide an answer for two problems: higher energy prices and climate change.
“We’ve got to use every chance available to save energy,” Merkel told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper published on Sunday, when asked about rising energy and food prices.

“We can do more to insulate buildings, to use renewable energy and when we make purchases we can buy appliances that use less power and cars that use less fuel. It’s good for the climate and it’s good for our wallet.”

German leaders are invariably strong advocates of the car industry, one of the country’s biggest employers and bulwark of the economy. Merkel, like her predecessors, opposes calls for a speed limit on motorways — which the car industry rejects.

Planet Ark