Cost of offsetting 4x4 emissions is less than £25 a year

24 January 2007

The cost of neutralising the CO2 emissions caused by driving a typical 4x4* is less than £25 a year, according to the UK’s leading carbon offsetting scheme for car drivers. Drivers of 4x4 cars face increased parking bills, congestion charges and other high-emission penalties. But offsetting a 4x4’s CO2 emissions for a year through the online targetneutral.com scheme (available at www.targetneutral.com) costs from just £16.71 for a Land Rover Discovery to £24.69 for a BMW X5*. Said Sheila Williams from the scheme: “Offsetting is a simple way for embattled 4x4 drivers to show they’re on the planet’s side too. “Targetneutral supports the concept of taking steps to consume less energy as well as offsetting the emissions of your current mode of transport. “But offsetting is a helpful and thoughtful step to take, whether you drive a Range Rover or a Mini.”
The targetneutral scheme recommends three practical steps that all motorists can take to tackle their personal CO2 emissions. REDUCE emissions as much as possible by changing behaviour to use less fuel and be more fuel efficient. This will save money too. REPLACE the fuel, oil, tyres and car with more fuel efficient products and models, specifically high efficiency diesel vehicles, when possible. NEUTRALISE the effects of the CO2 emissions that cannot be reduced or replaced by joining targetneutral.
The annual CO2 offsetting cost, on an average annual mileage of 10,000 miles, of some of the UK’s best known 4x4 cars is, according to the calculator at www.targetneutral.com:
Range Rover 3.6 TD V8 £19.97
Land Rover Discovery 2.7 TD V6 £16.71
Volvo XC90 3.2 SE Sport £20.97
VW Touareg 3.0 V6 TDI £19.28
Mercedes ML 320 CDI £17.40
BMW X5 4.4i SE £24.69
Targetneutral (from BP) is administered by a panel of the UK’s leading environmentalists including Jonathon Porritt and Tim Smit. Targetneutral works through a simple online carbon calculator. Drivers input the make and model of their cars and the number of miles they drive a year. The calculator then shows how much they need to pay to offset their cars’ emissions. Money generated by targetneutral goes towards CO2 reduction projects including alternative and renewable energy.
NOTES TO EDITORS:
How do motorists sign up?

1. log on to www.targetneutral.com
2. follow a simple procedure that helps calculate the number of litres of fuel used each year and the CO2 emissions generated
3. the www.targetneutral.com ‘calculator’ then determines the financial contribution needed to buy the CO2 reduction to neutralise these emissions
4. in addition, by registering their Nectar card, they trigger a BP contribution every time they use their card when buying fuel at a BP forecourt

Contact Information

Elodie Massol

BP

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