BEE to formulate fuel efficiency standards

India’s Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) said it will formulate fuel efficiency standards and a corresponding labeling scheme for vehicles in India. BEE, which creates standards and star labels for consumer appliances, has proposed to establish fuel efficiency standards for each of the nine vehicle weight classes. The agency has yet to finalize a star rating system for cars, but said that it will develop rules based on the consumption of gasoline and diesel by vehicles. According to BEE, the standards, which would be based on carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions per vehicle, would help it push up the fuel efficiency of cars over the next years. However, media reports said that the Ministry of Environment and Forests opposed the proposal to use CO2 emissions as the criterion because using CO2 emissions as a benchmark for fuel efficiency would go against India’s international strategy on climate change, which states that the country will not make any mandatory cuts in CO2 emissions. (June 3/4, 2009)