Choosing an eco-friendly car just got harder in Australia | comment

Politicians have been banging on about fuel economy and emissions standards in the wake of the Volkswagen diesel cheating scandal.

But Australia can hardly take the high ground as our emissions standards are at least six years behind Europe, which introduced strict "EU6" rules in September 2014.

Australia is still at EU4, with the EU5 standard — introduced in Europe in September 2009 — set to apply from November 2016.

Emissions standards are so lax because the Australian car industry lobbied successive federal governments to delay the introduction of stricter standards.

It's expensive to come up with new ways to cut fuel consumption and emissions.

Australian car buyers now have another battle when choosing a vehicle that might be kinder to the environment than others.

The star ratings for every make and model on the federal government's Green Vehicle Guide have mysteriously gone after a recent website makeover.

Presumably, this is a delayed reaction to the big stink the Australian car industry made about the ratings about 18 months ago.

Locally made cars did poorly because they were mostly gas-guzzling six-cylinder sedans, which took them off the purchasing lists for many government and business fleets.

The Green Vehicle Guide should have stood its ground.

Australian car makers will close their factories within two years yet we've lost a valuable, easy-to-understand shopping tool for those who want an environmentally friendly car.

Politicians love to talk about clean energy and "clean" cars. What a pity they had a hand in making it harder to find a car with decent eco credentials.