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Environmental Action Germany (DUH) has taken Germany’s leading political leaders to task for and choosing to be chauffeured around in “climate killers”, namely plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). In its examination of state cars used by Germany’s top federal and state politicians, the DUH found “a renewed increase in greenhouse gas emissions”, and this despite an election year in which climate has not only become the main issue but also one in which the consequences of the climate crisis have become ever more evident, the NGO said. On average, state cars emit significantly more than twice the CO2 emissions permitted by state car fleet limits. The DUH attributes the increase to the wide use of PHEVs, which make up 51 percent of state cars. PHEVs emit up to four times the level of CO2 for which they were approved when not charged sufficiently, according to the .

Measured in terms of real CO2 emissions on the road, only 16 of the 233 vehicles examined comply with the EU fleet limit of 95 grams of CO2 per kilometre, according to the DUH. The organisation demands that government offices only purchase state cars that fall below the EU limit in real driving. “The politicians are demonstrating that they have still not understood the urgency for more climate protection,” the DUH states. Barbara Metz, the DUH’s deputy managing director, adds that the state car fleet shows how intensively the automotive industry is using its close ties to the government for “climate killer advertising”. Greenpeace has also argued against government support of PHEVs, saying their fuel consumption in everyday use is many times higher than indicated in dealer information and that they do not reduce transport emissions.