To combat climate change, the European Union is proposing a legislation for carmakers to improve engine technology to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 130 grams per kilometre by 2012. But will this cause conflicts and discrepancies for small and large vehicles?

Plug-in hybrids are becoming more popular amongst environmentalists and those that want to do their part for the environment.

Ford has partnered with Southern California Edison to explore this technology. Ford expects the sell of rechargeable electric vehicles to be available in 5 to 10 years.

The Canadian government’s ecoAuto program, announced more than four months ago, promises rebates of up to $2000 for those who purchase fuel-efficient vehicles. However, these buyers have yet to receive the rebate and are voicing their frustration.

Robin Browne, spokesman for Transport Canada states that the “government is working as quickly as possible,” and will “finalize the program in the coming months and aims to issue cheques in the fall.”

Ontario unveils a program that will distinguish drivers of environmentally friendly, low-emission cars with a green-hued license plate. It will also allow them access to free parking and driving on high-capacity commuter lanes.

Ontario’s proposed green licence plates, offering drivers of environmentally friendly cars special perks, may cause confusion in several states in the US. Ohio, Wisconsin and Alabama are planning to tag sex offenders the same way, with green-hued licence plates.

Miami, Minneapolis, San Francisco, Seattle and New York City were selected to participate in a new $848.1 million dollar federal initiative to fight traffic congestion.

“The program aims to cut traffic congestion using approaches like congestion pricing, transit, tolling, and teleworking.”

“Car makers will show off their latest efforts to fight pollution at Frankfurt’s autoshow next week by unveiling models with improvements rather than substitutes to the standard internal combustion engine.”

“It’s time for Toronto to give less priority to cars and more to other modes of transport, a senior Toronto official bluntly told the city’s works committee.”

With rising oil prices and environmental concerns, Thailand, known for its one-tonne trucks, is converting to smaller options. Toyota and Honda are planning to make fuel efficient “eco” cars while Ford and Mazda announced a new small car plant.

“When it comes to greenhouse gas emissions, pollution from transportation is a big deal for Washington because so much of our electricity comes from CO2-free dams. So it’s a real big deal for the state to get California’s clean car standards in place to cut tailpipe emissions of toxic chemicals and CO2.”