The automobile industry should work to reduce environmental damage from vehicles by developing low-pollution cars such as fuel-cell automobiles, according to a Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association report released Monday.
The report will be submitted to the World Summit on Sustainable Development to be held in Johannesburg between Aug. 26 and Sept. 4, an association official said.
The report was compiled in cooperation with the United Nations, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association, and General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. of the United States.
It says that since the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, the automobile industry has made progress in reducing exhaust emissions and enhancing fuel efficiency.
Developed countries are implementing stricter emissions standards to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and mitigate the greenhouse effect, the report says.
It says 100 of today's new cars produce the same quantity of emissions as one car built in the 1970s, and claims noise pollution has decreased by an average of around 90 percent compared with 30 years ago.
The report introduces examples of automakers, including Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co., that are developing fuel-cell cars and hybrid cars propelled by both an electric motor and a gasoline engine.
The report calls for the use of information technology in creating intelligently linked traffic systems and for legislative steps intended to improve the environment.
Other issues that need to be addressed are the removal of lead from fuel in developing countries, as well as reducing traffic congestion and improving safety, it says.