# Press Release No. 13 /200 9

Press Relations Officer : Martin Ittershagen PR

­ staff: Anke Döpke, Dieter Leutert, Fotini Mavromati, Theresa Pfeifer, Martin Stallmann Address: Postfach 1406, 06813 Dessau

­ Roßlau T elephone: +49 340/ 21 03

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# More environmentally friendly mobile air conditioning systems needed now UBA’s President Troge appeals to automotive industry to go into production of greener cars

At this year’s 79th International Motor Show in Geneva, which runs from 5

­ 15 March, a m yriad of Minis, hybrid and electric cars are pointing towards tomorrow’s trend: fewer emissions and low fuel consumption. It seems the automotive industry has responded to customer demands. Yet a customer’s search for a passenger vehicle fitted with a gree n air

­ conditioning system will be in vain. All the same, some three million tonnes of greenhouse gases per year are emitted from passenger vehicle air

­ conditioning units in Germany.

“The industry must move full steam ahead to mass

­ produce CO 2 air

­ condi tioning systems as they are an outstanding example of innovation in environmental protection“, said Prof. Dr. Andreas Troge, President of the Federal Environment Agency (UBA). “A delay in the start of production amounts to a loss of expertise and market op portunities. This will weaken the international position of the European automotive industry and its components suppliers“, declared Troge. In less than two years’ time, starting January 2011, all new vehicle types in Europe must run with refrigerants that have a much lower global warming potential than the refrigerants currently used. Automobile manufacturers are investigating two alternatives: the natural refrigerant CO 2 (carbon dioxide) and the synthetic refrigerant R1234yf. Whereas the latter can devel op highly corrosive and toxic hydrofluoric acid in a fire, CO 2 is incombustible and non

toxic. What is more, R1234yf has a global warming potential that is four times higher than CO 2 . In Autumn 2007 the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) a nnounced that the German automotive industry would introduce CO 2 as its new refrigerant. The Association re

asserted this claim in Autumn 2008. “It is a wise decision, which must now be followed up by action. The technology for CO 2 air

conditioning systems has been developed, owing largely to a supplying industry dominated by mid

­ sized companies. The Federal Environment Agency already owns a vehicle fitted with a CO 2 air

­ conditioning system“, said Troge. CO 2 is the refrigerant for the vehicles of the future : not only do CO 2 air

­ conditioning systems provide cooling, they can also serve

— unlike other alternatives

­ as efficient heat pumps in the2 cold season. This applies to hybrid or electric cars in particular as they require auxiliary heating in winter. More i nformation on automobile air

­ conditioning systems is on the Internet at http://www.umweltbundesamt.de/klimaschutz

­ e/index.htm as part of the article "Climate

friendly alternative: Mobile air conditioning units with CO2.

Dessau

­ Roßlau, 5 March 2009