Life cycle assessment: Reul's company car is one of the dirtiest
Created: 05/19/2022, 19:33
Herbert Reul (CDU), Interior Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia.
© Malte Krudewig/dpa/archive image
According to a study by the German Environmental Aid (DUH), North Rhine-Westphalia's Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU) is chauffeured in one of the most polluting official cars of top German politicians.
Reul's Audi A8, which has special safety equipment, puts a "shocking" 488 grams of climate-damaging greenhouse gas per kilometer on the road with "real" C02 emissions, according to the DUH life cycle assessment published on Thursday.
Düsseldorf - The carbon dioxide emissions are just as high in the company cars of Hesse's Prime Minister Volker Bouffier (CDU) and Lower Saxony's Interior Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD), which are also specially secured.
In a comparison of the heads of government of the federal states, Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia Hendrik Wüst (CDU) comes second to last with his armored Mercedes-Benz S 600 petrol engine.
According to the evaluation, Wüst's company car actually emits 451 grams of CO2 per kilometer.
Only Bouffier's company car performs worse than Wüst in terms of fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.
The environmental leader among the state leaders is Baden-Württemberg's Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann (Greens).
He is driving an electric Mercedes and was the only head of state to receive a green card from the DUH.
Overall, the company car fleet of the NRW state government brings up the rear in the nationwide eco-ranking.
Seven ministers in the most populous federal state are traveling in a diesel company car - including Transport Minister Ina Brandes (CDU).
In the company car comparison of the environment ministers of the federal states and the federal government, the acting department head Lutz Lienenkamper (CDU) took twelfth place with a BMW diesel.
more on the subject
Life cycle assessment: Reul's company car is one of the dirtiest
Environmental comparison of company cars: Berlin Senate in 1st place
Politicians do well in the exhaust ranking
The environmental aid examined 233 company cars belonging to 238 top politicians from the federal and state governments.
According to the DUH, the statistics were based on the CO2 emissions in "real driving" and not on the manufacturer's information on the official CO2 standard emissions, which are significantly lower.
In its own survey, the DUH relies on the methods of the environmental research association ICCT, which uncovered the VW emissions scandal.
Stricter requirements for CO2 emissions from vehicles have been in force in the EU since 2020.
Across the industry, the average fleet value for new cars should not exceed 95 grams per kilometer driven - apart from transitional regulations.
dpa
