尽管有气候承诺，排放量仍在上升？梅赛德斯-奔驰对供应链问题保持沉默

In 2025, the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs (IPE) andGreen Jiangnan, together with nine other environmental organizations,jointly launched the “Vehicle Carbon Footprint Snap” campaign. Theactive participation of Blue Map App users unlocked the product carbonfootprints of more than 110,000 vehicles via street snap, revealing totalemissions exceeding 4.12 million tons of CO₂. Notably, Mercedes-Benzvehicles alone accounted for over 270,000 tons of carbon emissions,placing the brand among the highest emitters across hundreds ofChinese and international automotive manufacturers. To accelerate low-carbon transformation of China’s automotive sectorand provide consumers with more environmentally sustainable choices,the eleven environmental organizations collectively sent an open letterto several leading automakers. Several Chinese and internationalbrandsresponded constructively and engaged in dialogue andexchanges. However, despite repeated outreach, Mercedes-Benz hasyet to respond. Big Data and AI Enable the Development of anAutomotive Carbon Footprint Heatmap Theglobal automotive industry continues to thrive,deliveringsignificantmobility benefits while generating substantial carbonemissions. Although the rise of new energy vehicles—particularlybattery electric vehicles—has helped reduce emissions during the usephase, carbon emissions from raw material production require equaland urgent attention. Research by the China Automotive Data Co., Ltd.1indicates that, forpassenger vehicles, carbon emissions from the raw material acquisitionstage, primarily driven by steel and aluminum production, are 10 to 15times higher than those generated during final assembly. This highlightsthe critical need to accelerate decarbonization across upstream supply-chain segments, including steel, aluminum, and battery materials. Encouragingly, many steel and aluminum producers have alreadydeveloped low-carbon product offerings. However, limited demandfrom automakers has constrained large-scale adoption, preventingthese products from displacing conventional high-carbon options andslowing emissions reductions across the value chain. Overcoming thisbottleneck requires heightened awareness and coordinated supportfrom all stakeholders, particularly consumers. To address these obstacles, under the guidance of the China Forum ofEnvironment Journalists, Blue Map and the China Products CarbonFootprint Factors Database (CPCD) jointly developed the “ProductCarbon Scan” tool. Leveraging data from platforms such as ChinaAutomobile industry chain carbon publicity platform (CPP) and CPCD,and enhanced through artificial intelligence, the tool enables the publicto identify and compare the carbon footprints of vehicles, therebymaking climate-conscious consumption decisions2. Based on this tool, IPE and Green Jiangnan (PECC), together withShandong Environmental Protection Foundation, Green Qilu, Airman,Green Anhui, Green Taihang, Wuhu Ecology Center, BAYU PublicWelfare Development Center, Green Hanjiang and Hefei ShanshuiEnvironmental Protection Development Center, jointly launched the"Vehicle Carbon Footprint Snap" campaign. This is a part of the public welfareinitiative"Environmental Protection at Our Fingertips".Launched jointly by China Forum of Environment Journalists and IPE in2018, this initiative closely aligns with the theme "Beautiful China Startswith Me". It calls on the public to start from daily routines, protect cleanair and clear waters, conduct public supervision on pollution, switch tolow-carbon lifestyles, and contribute to building a Beautiful China. As of 15 October 2025, over 110,000 snapshots have been taken in 131cities. These data present a distinctive “Street Snap Automotive CarbonFootprint” landscape. To quantify the aggregate climate impact of theobserved vehicle samples across their full life cycles, we calculated the“Street Snap Carbon Reduction Potential” for automotive brands andspecific vehicle models. This is defined as the product of street snapfrequency and the carbon footprint per unit of mileage driven. Thisforms the basis of the “Automotive Carbon Footprint Heatmap”,providing a data-driven visualization of relative emissions intensity andreduction opportunities across the automotive market. The Heatmap shows that Volkswagen, Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, Audi,and BMW rank among the top five brands in terms of carbon reductionpotential. Volkswagen exhibits the highest street snap frequency,reflecting its extensive on-road presence, while Mercedes-Benz recordsthe highest average carbon footprint among the captured models. Incontrast, BYD, Tesla, and XPeng demonstrate significantly lower averagecarbon footprints compared with those of conventional automakers.Based on the findings of the Vehicle Carbon Footprint Snap campaign,we have sent open letters to Chinese and international automakers. Intheseletters,we conveyed the concerns of environmentalorganizations and the public regarding product-level carbon