SUVs are the second-biggest contributor to growing carbon emissions worldwide. — Tramino / IStock.com pic via AFP
According to the latest published figures, the rate of CO2 emissions from these vehicles makes them the second-largest cause of growing carbon dioxide pollution worldwide.The automotive industry spends more than US$35.5 billion every year on advertising, a large portion of which is earmarked for the promotion of SUVs.
The New Weather Institute report draws a comparison with cigarette ads from the era when they were legal, which sold tobacco with the same arguments: a vision of an unhindered freedom that diverted attention from the harmful health effects of smoking. These heavy vehicles consume around 25 percent more energy than mid-size automobiles — the equivalent of 3.3 million barrels of gasoline per day for every day since 2010.The calculation is relatively simple: if the number of SUVs continues to increase at the same rate, they will require an extra two million barrels of gas per day, which will effectively wipe out any reduction in carbon emissions due to the sales of 150 million electric vehicles.