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Car makers face EU drive for adverts to show emissions
Anna Davis, Evening Standard05.06.08
Car advertisements could be forced to carry warnings showing how polluting they are under new EU rules.
The European Commission is believed to be considering a "traffic light" system, where red stars would mark out cars with high emissions, and green stars would be used for less polluting vehicles.
Car manufacturers and advertisers are furious at the move, which they say will stifle creativity in adverts.
The new rules would change the current situation where pollution information is often supplied in barely readable small print at the bottom of adverts. Officials from the Department of Transport are also drawing up proposals to force manufacturers to show the greenhouse gas produced by a car alongside marketing slogans. This would mainly affect roadside billboards and print adverts.
Former London mayor candidate Sian Berry, also of the Alliance Against Urban 4x4s, said the car industry had "gleefully exploited loopholes to leave CO2 information out of as many adverts as they can".
