HONDA Sponsors COP15 Climate Change Conference
Honda has become one of only four car sponsors of the COP15 Climate Conference, which takes place in Copenhagen from 7-18 December, 2009. The announcement comes after Honda successfully met a series of strict environmental requirements set by the Danish Foreign Ministry.
Honda will supply the two-week climate summit with a fleet of low-emission Insight hybrid cars. The FCX Clarity, Hondas ground-breaking, zero emission hydrogen powered fuel cell electric vehicle, will also be present at the summit as part of a COP15 showcase Driving the Future. The cars will be used to transport delegates, VIPs and journalists to key venues at the conference.
Commenting on the sponsorship, Svend Olling, Head of Department at Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said: In meeting our criteria, Honda has been selected as official sponsors of vehicles for the COP15 Climate Conference. Not only does the sponsorship enable us to lower emissions from the conference itself, the vehicles demonstrate technology, which already today can help us in our efforts to reduce CO2 emissions in the transportation sector.
Yuishi Fukuda, President of Nordic Honda A.B. added: Honda is proud to have been accepted by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs as an official sponsor of the COP15 Climate Conference. The vehicles on display will demonstrate Hondas commitment to manufacturing products with the highest possible environmental performance, using production systems with the smallest environmental impact.
In 2006, Honda became the first automobile manufacturer in the world to announce global per-unit CO2 reduction targets for both its products and production activities.
About Hondas commitment to developing low emissions vehicles
Honda has always been proactive and innovative in its approach to the reduction of atmospheric pollution. With the introduction of the CVCC engine in 1972, Honda became the worlds first automaker to comply with the stringent exhaust emissions regulations of the 1970 US Clean Air Act without the use of a catalytic converter. And Honda has continued to work to improve the emissions performance of all its vehicles. Addressing the problem of global warming, Honda has worked to reduce CO2 emissions by improving the fuel efficiency of its conventional engines, introducing a world-class natural gas-powered vehicle in the US, flexible fuel vehicles for Brazil, highly efficient diesel engines for Europe, and developing hybrid and fuel cell electric vehicles.
About the New Honda Insight
The New Honda Insight, achieves excellent fuel economy (64.2mpg on SE models) and very low CO2 emissions (101g/km) at a more affordable price, with the objective to make petrol-electric technology accessible to more people. The Insight also incorporates a system which encourages the driver to achieve lower emissions and fuel consumption every day.
Honda believes hybrid technologies are currently the most realistic path for CO2 reduction. By having an electric motor working together with a petrol engine ultimately, exhaust emissions are reduced and better fuel economy is achieved.
About the FCX Clarity
The FCX Clarity was designed from scratch as a dedicated fuel cell electric vehicle. It is powered by the highly compact, efficient and powerful Honda V Flow fuel cell stack. Boasting a low-slung, dynamic and sophisticated appearance made possible by the innovative layout of the fuel cell power plant, the FCX Clarity offers superior design and driving performance as well as environmental responsibility.
At the heart of the FCX Clarity is a fuel cell stack a device that uses an electrochemical reaction between hydrogen (H2) and oxygen (O2) to convert chemical energy into electrical energy to power a motor that drives the cars front wheels. Hondas FC stack simultaneously generates electricity and water, emitting no CO2 or other harmful emissions.
In 2002 Honda became the worlds first carmaker to put a fuel cell electric vehicle on the road with regular customers, delivering the Honda FCX Clarity to fleet users in the United States and Japan.
About COP15
COP15 is the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference. The event will take place in Copenhagen 7-18 December 2009.
In 1990, the United Nations General Assembly decided to start work on a climate change convention. The endeavors led to 154 countries signing the United Nations Framework Climate Change Convention (UNFCCC) at the UN Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. Since then, 192 countries including the USA have ratified the convention. The goals of the climate change convention are to stabilise the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere at a level that prevents dangerous man-made climate changes.
Each year, a Conference of the Parties is held, where the countries which have ratified the convention meet and discuss how the conventions goals can be implemented in practice. One of the tools, which the parties have agreed upon, is the Kyoto Protocol.
The climate change convention is administered by the United Nations Climate Change Secretariat in Bonn. The secretariats tasks include monitoring the development in the individual countries CO2 emissions, as well as keeping watch on which countries ratify the Kyoto Protocol.