Half of all new cars are now SUVs, making them a major cause of the intensifying climate crisis, say experts

Half of all new cars are now SUVs, making them a major cause of the intensifying climate crisis, say experts

Sales of SUVs hit a new record in 2023, making up half of all new cars sold globally, data has revealed. Experts warned that the rising sales of the large, heavy vehicles is pushing up the carbon emissions that drive global heating.

The analysis, by the International Energy Agency, found that the rising emissions from SUVs in 2023 made up 20% of the global increase in CO2, making the vehicles a major cause of the intensifying climate crisis. If SUVs were a country, the IEA said, they would be the world’s fifth-largest emitter of CO2, ahead of the national emissions of both Japan and Germany.

Climate-fuelled extreme weather is increasing, with urgent cuts in emissions needed. But emissions from the global transport sector have risen fast in recent years, outside of the Covid pandemic. SUV sales rose 15% in 2023, compared with a 3% rise for conventional cars.

  • BoxOfFeet@lemmy.world
    2·
    7 months ago

    For sure, most of them are crossovers. And get decent gas mileage compared to real SUVs. When I was a kid, an SUV was like, an Explorer. Or a Tahoe. My unibody Equinox is basically just a tall station wagon. I’d say my Traverse might border on SUV with its AWD and towing package, but it is still a unibody and has a limited towing capacity. And it gets at least as good of mileage as my old Pontiac G6 that it replaced.