German carmakers in US join climate sceptic efforts to avoid tight emissions limits – report

German carmakers Daimler, VW and BMW try to appear environmentally conscious, but in the US they seem determined to sow doubts over climate science, Jan Keuchel writes for Handelsblatt. The companies have all announced ambitious plans to engage in climate action. But an internal document first reported on by the New York Times coming from the US industry organisation Alliance of Automotive Manufacturers, of which the German brands are also members, reveals that carmakers want to foster uncertainty over humans’ role in climate change in a bid to avoid tighter emissions limits, Keuchel writes. The document takes quotes from climate scientists out of context to “give the impression that researchers manipulate their climate models,” he says. The carmakers declined to comment on the reports, Keuchel adds.

Read the article in German here (paywall).

See the CLEW dossier The energy transition and climate change for more information.

For background on German carmakers, see the CLEW factsheets on VW, Daimler and BMW.