Environment Australia CU – SUVs have been known to be high consumers of fuel which in turn leads to a greater carbon foot print. Across the world rising inflation and higher fuel costs have resulted in many governments imposing import restrictions on fuel consuming vehicles and financial institutions restricting loans for Electric Vehicles (EV) only.
Australia’s high consumption of SUVs have caused concern with the vehicles consuming high energy. A National Transport Commission report had indicated that sales of SUVs had been up since a decade ago.
An internationally peer-reviewed study this year had tracked the emissions of 5 SUVs driving across Sydney and their findings indicate that things maybe more devastating than previously seen.
The National Transport Commission’s figures were linked to the “New European Drive Cycle” (NEDC) emissions test. The results found the real-world emissions of SUVs are, on average, about 30% greater than the NEDC values. This indicates that the average emissions are not reduced by a few percent per year, on the contrary they could be elevating them by a few percent annually.
The transport sector brings about approximately 20% of Australia’s emissions, ranking 3rd after the electricity and agriculture sector. The 1st year of the COVID pandemic only lowered transport CO₂ levels by about 7%, as opposed to 2019 emission levels.
Overall, Australia’s reputation in carbon emitting vehicles is evident by the fact that transport CO₂ emissions have been elevated by 14% between 2005 and 2020.
The global consumption of SUVs is likely to cause concern to many environmentalists due to their size and are often used with just 1 or 2 individuals where many environmentalists also point out that larger vehicles also cause more traffic jams hence more energy consumption in comparison to smaller vehicles.
Researchers indicate that for Australia to meet it net-zero emissions target, fuel efficiency in transport is essential.
