Polestar claims another 6% cut in per car greenhouse gas emissions

Swedish electric vehicle maker Polestar says it has reduced greenhouse gas emissions per car sold in 2021 by another 6% thanks to increased efficiency and renewable energy use.

The all-electric brand currently sells the Polestar 2 fastback in both single- and dual-motor configurations in Australia. It also has a Polestar 3, 4 and 5 in the pipeline – all of which are on the radar for Australia.

Polestar published its second Annual Review and Sustainability report on Tuesday in which it outlined its progress towards achieving its climate goals – which includes the company’s moonshot goal of creating a “truly climate-neutral car by 2030’.

But the headline finding from Polestar was its claim to have reduced greenhouse gas emissions per car sold by another 6% over the past year.

Polestar tracks its progress by analysing greenhouse gas emissions intensity, the amount of carbon dioxide equivalents emitted for each new car sold. In 2021, that figure was 40.2 tonnes of CO2e per car sold, a decline of 6% compared with the company’s baseline year of 2020.

Climate neutrality by 2040

Polestar aims to halve its carbon intensity by 2030 compared with 2020 figures on the way to achieving climate neutrality across its entire value chain by 2040.

“We work with each step we take to support our climate strategy,” said Thomas Ingenlath, Polestar CEO. “Goals set 10 or 20 years ahead in time might feel fluffy. That’s where proper reporting comes in – making us accountable for the steps taken every year towards that goal.

“This is the climate decade. Change and improvement must happen all the time, now, and we can’t afford to wait. I’m proud to say we reduced greenhouse gas-emissions per car sold by 6%.”