Photo: UKERC / bbc.com
Britain has committed to a net-zero greenhouse gas emissions target for 2050, but it will have trouble even meeting EU emissions targets if the current sales trends keep up.
Blame it on the increase in SUV popularity: a new report from the UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC) shows that demand for SUVs is on the rise, while electric vehicles are barely able to make a dent on the market. This translates into increased overall emissions from new vehicles, the BBC reports.
As of this moment, SUVs outsell electric cars by 37 to one, UKERC says. SUVs are selling better today than they did one year ago, and the government group blames it on “attractive car financing packages which divert attention from running costs.”
SUVs pollute more so, with an increase in popularity comes a boost in overall exhaust emissions from new cars. For the past 3 years, these emissions have been rising instead of declining, which effectively “makes a mockery” of the electric car push, foiling the government’s attempts to get people to switch to electric.
“Effectively, we have been sleepwalking into the issue,” Prof Jillian Anable of the UKERC tells the BBC. “The decarbonization of the passenger car market can no longer rely on a distant target to stop the sales of conventional engines. We must start to phase out the most polluting vehicles immediately. It is time to enact a strong set of regulations to transform the entire car market towards ultra-low carbon, rather than focusing solely on the uptake of electric vehicles.”
Speaking in concrete terms, over 1.8 million SUVs have been sold in the UK in the past 4 years, compared to just 47,000 BEVs. In 2018 alone, SUVs accounted for 21.2 percent of all new car sales, up from 13.5 percent in 2015.
Because they are bigger and heavier than medium-sized cars, SUVs emit a quarter more CO2 than these – and 4 times more than a BEV. When you add their average lifespan to the equation, the result is nothing short of discouraging.
“Assuming the majority of these SUVs will be on UK roads for at least a decade, it is estimated the extra cumulative emissions to total around 8.2 million tons of CO2,” the UKERC says.
As of this moment, SUVs outsell electric cars by 37 to one, UKERC says. SUVs are selling better today than they did one year ago, and the government group blames it on “attractive car financing packages which divert attention from running costs.”
SUVs pollute more so, with an increase in popularity comes a boost in overall exhaust emissions from new cars. For the past 3 years, these emissions have been rising instead of declining, which effectively “makes a mockery” of the electric car push, foiling the government’s attempts to get people to switch to electric.
“Effectively, we have been sleepwalking into the issue,” Prof Jillian Anable of the UKERC tells the BBC. “The decarbonization of the passenger car market can no longer rely on a distant target to stop the sales of conventional engines. We must start to phase out the most polluting vehicles immediately. It is time to enact a strong set of regulations to transform the entire car market towards ultra-low carbon, rather than focusing solely on the uptake of electric vehicles.”
Speaking in concrete terms, over 1.8 million SUVs have been sold in the UK in the past 4 years, compared to just 47,000 BEVs. In 2018 alone, SUVs accounted for 21.2 percent of all new car sales, up from 13.5 percent in 2015.
Because they are bigger and heavier than medium-sized cars, SUVs emit a quarter more CO2 than these – and 4 times more than a BEV. When you add their average lifespan to the equation, the result is nothing short of discouraging.
“Assuming the majority of these SUVs will be on UK roads for at least a decade, it is estimated the extra cumulative emissions to total around 8.2 million tons of CO2,” the UKERC says.
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