Toyota: MPG Falling, Emissions Rising, Sided W. Shitstain, But They're "Passionate" Re. Environment

[hatrack]

Toyota Motor Corp. is staring down allegations of green washing, the practice of making a company seem more environmentally friendly than it really is. At issue is Toyota's much-hyped statement this week, in which the automaker touted its commitment to addressing climate change and investing in the next generation of clean vehicles. "Toyota is passionate about the environment and reducing our impact," it said. "Our drive for continuous improvement of society is built into our DNA, and as a leader in electrified vehicles, it's who we are as a company."

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Toyota fared poorly in EPA's recent automotive trends report, which surveyed compliance with fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions standards for light-duty vehicles over the last five years. The report found Toyota was the only car company whose average gas mileage decreased while its carbon emissions increased. The EPA report "shows that actions speak louder than words, and that Toyota has not been improving on fuel economy and emissions like they say they care about doing," said Shannon Baker-Branstetter, manager of cars and energy policy at Consumer Reports.

Sean Hecht, co-executive director of UCLA's Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, agreed. "This [statement] isn't an accurate portrayal of either Toyota's commitment to reducing greenhouse gases from auto emissions, or its role in the electric vehicle market. In fact, Toyota is the only major automaker whose US GHG emissions and fuel economy have gotten worse since 2012," Hecht wrote in a recent Legal Planet blog post.

While Toyota was an industry leader in hybrid vehicles in the 2000s with the popular Prius, the company has lagged in developing fully electric vehicles in recent years, focusing instead on churning out gas-guzzling trucks, Hecht added. Toyota this week filed a motion to intervene on behalf of the Trump administration in the case Environmental Defense Fund v. Chao, which centers on whether California should have the ability to set tougher greenhouse gas emissions standards for cars than the federal government (Climatewire, Oct. 29).

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https://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2019/11/01/stories/1061428389

[JudyM]

1. K&R.

[AllaN01Bear]

2. so, were going to return to those days where we couldnt see mountains in la and had

smog alerts for most of the year . we couldnt play in the afternoon .bah humbug

[NickB79]

3. My next car will be a Nissan Leaf or Hyundai Kona

By next spring I'll have a new roof. By 2021 I'll have 7.9 kWh of solar on my roof and my Prius will be paid off. Then my wife's car will be replaced by late 2021 or 2022 with a gently used EV.