Vehicular emissions count for one-fifth of the total amount of global warming-gas carbon dioxide emitted in Israel each year, according to a report issued last week.

Israeli cars emit more than 14 million tons of carbon dioxide annually, the Israel Union for Environmental Defense (Adam, Teva v'Din) claimed.

According to the report, in order to significantly reduce this figure, it would be necessary to double cars' fuel efficiency and halve the total distance they travel each year. However, reducing car use in Israel is even more difficult than it has proved in other Western countries, due to the lack of an efficient public transport system.

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Nevertheless, the report said, much travel could be eliminated via carpooling, and in many towns, it is also possible to get to work by bicycle or even on foot. In many others, however, streets are not designed with the needs of pedestrians and bicycle riders in mind.

The greatest savings in carbon dioxide emissions come from hybrid cars, which run on a combination of gasoline and electricity. The conventional model of the Honda Civic, for instance, uses 32 percent more gasoline per kilometer than does the its hybrid model. However, hybrids are significantly more expensive than regular cars.