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Global sales of polluting SUVs hit record high in 2023, data shows (www.theguardian.com)

submitted 6 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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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.

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[–] [email protected] 8 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Automakers aren’t encouraged to create more efficient small vehicles. The US emissions system is based on the vehicle’s footprint rather than its total output. Therefore, it’s more “climate friendly” in marketing to make an underpowered larger vehicle.

https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN21D1KK/

[–] [email protected] 4 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

The US also imposes a tariff on import of light trucks -- which I understand large vehicles like crossovers are also classified as -- due to a 1960s dispute over US chicken exports to Europe that was never resolved, making those more-profitable for domestic manufacture, since the market is less-competitive.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_tax

The Chicken Tax is a 25 percent tariff on light trucks (and originally on potato starch, dextrin, and brandy) imposed in 1964 by the United States under President Lyndon B. Johnson in response to tariffs placed by France and West Germany on importation of U.S. chicken. The period from 1961 to 1964 of tensions and negotiations surrounding the issue was known as the "Chicken War", taking place at the height of Cold War politics.

Eventually, the tariffs on potato starch, dextrin, and brandy were lifted, but since 1964 this form of protectionism has remained in place to give US domestic automakers an advantage over imported competitors. Though concern remains about its repeal, a 2003 Cato Institute study called the tariff "a policy in search of a rationale."

I suppose that if European chicken protectionism ended, American auto protectionism also might, and so would the misincentive to sell as many light trucks as possible.

Another fun quirk that I expect -- though haven't looked into -- derives from this: American towing requirements have long been much higher than those in Europe. One needs a considerably larger vehicle to tow a given trailer legally. That effectively means that if one wants to tow things in the US, one effectively needs to pay the "chicken tax" to domestic automakers.