Croatia is among the leaders in Europe by cutting the CO2 emissions
According to the latest data from the European association of car manufacturers (ACEA), European countries are following the reduction of CO2 emissions from new passenger cars. Last year, the average emission was reduced by 7.5 grams to 116.3 grams of CO2 per kilometer, which means that the average consumption of new cars was reduced to 4.39 liters of diesel fuel or 4.87 liters of gasoline per 100 kilometers.
This is a good result, which shows that Europe is following the guidelines. It achieves its goals mainly through the push of EV’s, hybrids and plug-in hybrids, which greatly reduce the average CO2 footprint.
The record holders in average emissions are the countries of Northern Europe. Norway achieved a result of only 27.3 grams of CO2 per kilometer. Iceland, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands and Finland, which still emits less than 100 grams of CO2 per kilometer, are far behind.
These are European data. What about Croatia, how are we on the road to decarbonization of transport?
The first data show, that we are in the role of followers of trends. The average emission of new cars in Croatia reached 129 grams last year, which is significantly worse than the European average. This data means that new cars had an average consumption of five liters of diesel fuel or 5.56 liters of gasoline per 100 kilometers.
Explanation - a liter of diesel fuel emits quite a bit more than a liter of petrol. This means that one liter of gasoline weighs about 740 g, but when it burned, produces about 2.31 kg of CO2. On the other hand, a liter of diesel, which weighs about 840 g, produces even more – 2.68 kg of CO2.
Emissions of CO2 in Croatia, are, on the other hand, very promising. Croatia has progressed on the scale more than most other European countries, because the average emission decreased by 15 grams of CO2 per kilometer last year, while in Europe it decreased by only 7.5 grams of CO2 per kilometer.
Croatia is thus in the company of countries that exceed the European average. Among them are, for example, Slovenia with a CO2 reduction of 17.4 grams per kilometer, the Netherlands with a reduction of 15.6 grams, and Latvia, which reduced CO2 emissions per kilometer by 19.5 grams.
The high growth in sales of electric cars in Croatia, which reached 154 percent last year, also contributed to the good result. The entire electric car market reached 1,436 vehicles, which is almost half of the entire fleet or car park of electric cars in Croatia.
At the same time, the importance of electric cars in average emissions should be highlighted. In 2020, every electric car sold halved the average emissions, as EU officials counted as two cars sold. Last year, the coefficient decreased to 1.67, which means that, for example, the sale of a thousand electric cars reduced the average emission as if 1,670 cars were sold.
The tricks of EU officials are aimed, of course, to promote the sale of electric cars. On the other hand, subsidies and still very favorable electricity prices contribute to this, which makes driving an electric car cheaper than a diesel one.