Brussels, 20/04/2009 (Agence Europe) - In a letter sent on 9 April to European Industry Commissioner Günter Verheugen, Greenpeace criticises the car scrapping schemes set up or being considered by several EU member states to support vehicle sales and assist the car industry that has been severely hit by the financial crisis. The environmentalist NGO says that these measures will not bring any benefit for the environment, will not help combat climate change, nor will it improve road safety. In addition, such measures will not resolve the basic problems of the European car industry, but will only be a massive waste of taxpayers' money. “The schemes will not increase the competitiveness of the car sector, nor will they benefit the climate, the environment or road safety. The schemes only mask the main problem for today's car industry: overcapacity,” Greenpeace states. “These schemes are designed to encourage consumers to buy cars now, rather than later. But all they are likely to achieve is to cushion the sales slump today, triggering an even greater crash in coming years,” it predicts. Car scrapping schemes may be presented as “green” measures, but there can be no guarantee that each new subsidised model sold will be cleaner than the car scrapped. Under most schemes, an old Fiat Punto could be replaced with a Range Rover which emits three times as much CO2, laments Greenpeace, and it says that car manufacturers are using the schemes to get rid of lower-standard, “less-green” cars, knowing that tougher pollution standards will apply from September. “Taxpayer money is being used to put more polluting cars on the road than if there had been no schemes at all”. Greenpeace says. It also says the schemes will be counterproductive with regard to road safety. Brands, such as Suzuki, Daihatsu and Chevrolet, that have most increased their sales, after a car scrapping scheme was put in place in Germany, do not produce a single model with the maximum five-star EuroNCAP safety rating. “Governments must not squander public funds to renew their national car fleets, unless each subsidised car model has a markedly better environmental and safety performance than the one it replaces,” the NGO argues, urging Commissioner Verheugen to argue for national schemes that protect the environment and the climate and do not cause any harm to transport policies. “Instead of spending money to deepen Europe's car dependency, EU countries should invest in energy efficiency, renewable energy and public transport,” concludes Greenpeace, lambasting the waste of over €8 billion in taxpayers' money. (E.H./transl.rt)