It turns out, really. According to recent data from the International Energy Agency (IEA) that was made public last week, SUVs will produce approximately 70 million more tonnes of carbon dioxide annually by 2022 than they will in 2018. According to The Guardian, if SUV drivers made up their own country, they would have the sixth-highest emissions rate in the world.
According to the IEA, the popularity of electric SUVs is rising, but not quickly enough to compensate for the larger fleet’s rising oil consumption and emissions.
The report s findings aren t notable simply for pointing out that SUVs emit a lot in the U.S., they emit around 14 percent more carbon dioxide on average than a small passenger vehicle, as The Guardian reported in 2020, and consume around 20 percent more oil than the average midsize car, according to the IEA.
The results are noteworthy instead because SUV sales were the only ones to increase among all conventional automobile sales in 2022. While overall auto sales decreased by 0.5 percent, sales of SUVs increased by about three percent, accounting for 46 percent of all auto sales to exceed 330 million vehicles on the road.
The report’s authors noted that while the global auto industry did not have a strong year in 2022, SUV sales were an exception, which added to worries about how they would affect efforts to combat climate change.
SUVs consumed 500,000 barrels of oil per day more than regular cars between 2021 and 2022, accounting for a third of the increase in oil demand for the year.
The report’s one encouraging finding was that sales of electric vehicles (EVs) were the other exception, increasing by 60% with the first-ever sale of more than 10 million cars. This included the sales of electric SUVs, which currently make up 55% of all EV sales and 16% of all SUV sales.
But, electric SUVs are not a great solution from an environmental perspective.
SUVs need larger batteries to power them, thus a growing market for electric SUVs would put more strain on battery supply chains and raise demand for the crucial minerals used to create batteries, according to the IEA.
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The organization advocated shrinking the size of typical cars as well as technological advancements like battery swapping. According to Julia Poliscanova, senior director for cars and e-mobility at Transport & Environment, the automotive market is currently developing in the other direction.
According to Poliscanova, automakers are getting rid of tiny automobiles to increase profits. Nevertheless, because larger cars require more resources and energy, they impose more strain on the environment.
In particular, during a time of high energy prices, this means more expensive models and higher operating costs for drivers. Western automakers might later regret doing this.
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Several people, including economic historian and degrowth specialist Matthias Schmelzer, have demanded an outright ban on Vehicles that aren’t necessary. He cited a recent Financial Times report that revealed that, compared to 50 years ago, SUVs and light trucks now account for 4/5 of new automobile sales in the United States.
Larger cars not only put more strain on the environment and vital raw materials but also raise the possibility of traffic accidents.
By deflating the tires of the huge cars, the organization Tire Extinguishers puts its opposition to SUVs into the streets. They deflated hundreds of tires across Europe the evening the IEA study was released, according to The Guardian.
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According to their website, they deflated an additional 60 tires on Tuesday in Brussels for the initiative’s debut in the city. More than 10,000 SUVs have been deflated by them so far in 16 different nations.
SUVs and 4x4s are terrible for our environment, public safety, and health. Our towns and cities are being overrun by bigger and bigger cars, all so that a privileged few may flaunt their wealth. We must defend ourselves against this threat because governments and politicians have failed to do so, the group claims on its website.
