THE ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF THE HISTORIC AND CLASSIC MOTOR INDUSTRY IN THE UK

62 13.5 Emissions of £1,000 of spend But given that historic and classic vehicles are luxury goods, it is probably more appropriate to compare the environmental impact of spending on them compared those from spending the same amount on other activities. The average £1,000 spent on owning and using classic cars creates 80 kg of CO 2 equivalent emissions, after taking all the inputs into account. This compares with 537 kg of CO 2 emissions that would result from an average £1,000 of consumer expendi ture, measured the same way. But more telling is the comparison with other areas of luxury spend. If you spend on classic cars rather than spending the same money going to the pub or eating restaurant meals you halve your environmental emissions. If you spend on classic cars rather than spending a similar amount on short haul holidays you cut your emissions by 90% and compared with flying to the Far East you cut your emissions by as much as 98%. Figure 12 Greenhouse gas emissions per £1,000 spent So, even using existing technology, historic and classic vehicles actually are contributing to the greening of the economy, and technological change in future will enable the sector to contribute further. 0 500 1,000 1,500 2,000 2,500 3,000 3,500 4,000 Greenhouse cas emissions (kg of CO 2 equivalent) from spending £1,000 on..... High impact per £ Medium impact per £ Low impact per £ Average impact per £