The International Energy Agency (IEA) recently released its annual Global EV Outlook 2026. The report states that in 2025, large vehicles including SUVs accounted for almost 70% of the global electric vehicle market. These figures underscore the widely discussed issue of “autobesity”: the increasing size and weight of vehicles. The global auto market is increasingly shifting toward larger models, which not only raises the consumption of raw materials such as steel, aluminum, and plastics in passenger vehicle production, but also increases greenhouse gas emissions across upstream supply chains. The resulting “incremental carbon emissions” could even offset the emissions reduction of electric vehicles during the driving phase.

In May 2026, through its engagement in environmental and climate action, IPE witnessed 577 enterprises disclosing a total of 581 carbon emission data sheets, and 625 enterprises disclosing a total of 631 PRTR (Pollutant Release and Transfer Register) data sheets. In addition, 86 enterprises passed the GCA audit, verifying the effectiveness of their corrective actions of 264 supervision records from the Blue Map website.

In April 2026, through its engagement in environmental and climate action, IPE witnessed 656 enterprises disclosing a total of 667 carbon emission data sheets, and 687 enterprises disclosing a total of 696 PRTR (Pollutant Release and Transfer Register) data sheets. In addition, 113 enterprises passed the GCA audit, verifying the effectiveness of their corrective actions of 318 supervision records from the Blue Map website.

The global automotive industry continues to thrive, delivering significant mobility benefits while generating substantial carbon emissions. Research indicates highlights the critical need to accelerate decarbonization across upstream supply-chain segments, esp. steel and aluminum. However, limited demand from automakers has constrained large-scale adoption of low-carbon raw materials. Overcoming this bottleneck requires heightened awareness and coordinated support from all stakeholders. In view of this, in 2025, the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs (IPE) and Green Jiangnan, together with nine other environmental organizations, jointly launched the “Auto Carbon Scan” campaign. With the support of several foundations, IPE has also conducted study on the 'Automobile-Steel and Aluminum Green Supply Chain Collaborative Carbon Reduction'. The study focuses on motivating the automotive industry to publicly disclose supply chain carbon reduction targets, implement low-carbon procurement requirements, and incentivize hard-to-abate industries such as steel and aluminum smelting to accelerate the production and supply of low-carbon products.

As the global transition to renewable energy accelerates, demand for transition minerals is surging. Their extraction and processing entail significant environmental costs and potential social ripple effects, posing a shared challenge for global climate governance. From an ecological perspective, this report systematically reviews the environmental impacts across the transition mineral lifecycle. It also examines how stakeholders—including governments, industry associations, supply chain leaders, and civil society—engage in environmental governance and disclosure. Finally, it offers recommendations to enhance environmental transparency across transition mineral supply chains.

In March 2026, through its engagement in environmental and climate action, IPE witnessed 215 enterprises disclosing a total of 217 carbon emission data sheets, and 269 enterprises disclosing a total of 273 PRTR (Pollutant Release and Transfer Register) data sheets. In addition, 91 enterprises passed the GCA audit, verifying the effectiveness of their corrective actions of 262 supervision records from the Blue Map website.

In 2025, the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs (IPE) and Green Jiangnan, together with nine other environmental organizations, jointly launched the “Vehicle Carbon Footprint Snap” campaign. The active participation of Blue Map App users unlocked the product carbon footprints of more than 280,000 vehicles via street snap, revealing total emissions exceeding 10.26 million tons of CO?. Notably, Volvo Cars' average carbon footprint of the photographed models was 306 grams per kilometer, higher than that of 89.3% of brands in the observed sample. To accelerate low-carbon transformation of China’s automotive sector and provide consumers with more environmentally sustainable choices, the eleven environmental organizations collectively sent an open letter to leading automakers. Several Chinese and international brands responded constructively and engaged in dialogue and exchanges. However, Volvo has yet to provide any response to date.