This post is taken from the newsletter ” Human warmth “, sent every Tuesday at 12 p.m. Every week, journalist Nabil Wakim, who hosts the Chaleur Humaine podcast, answers questions from Internet users on the climate challenge. You can register for free here:
Before answering Dominique’s question, a little additional promo for the book Human warmthavailable for order in all bookstores (I know, I’ve already told you, but since I’m very happy, I’ll repeat myself!). I hope that you will find the spirit of the podcast and ideas for debating the climate challenge.
The question of the week
“I understand that we need to reduce car traffic, but why attack SUVs in particular, which are more comfortable to drive, several of your guests talk about it as a big problem for the climate, is that is really that important? » Question asked by Dominique at chaud [email protected].
My answer : Yes, the burden of SUV (sometimes called “fake 4×4”) use is significant, for two reasons. Firstly because these cars are heavier, consume more fuel and therefore emit more greenhouse gases than a lighter vehicle. But also because they have become the majority in car sales. To give an order of magnitude, if we count the emissions of all SUVs in the world in 2022, we are just below those of Japan, the fifth largest emitter in the world. (And if, like me, you don’t really know what an SUV is, the best-selling models in France are the Peugeot 3008, the Renault Captur or the Dacia Duster, for example)
1) How much do SUVs weigh in warming?
1 billion tonnes of CO2according to the International Energy Agency (AIE), which made this calculation for the year 2022. It is considerable. France emitted, for example, 400 million tonnes of CO2 the same year. These cars play a major role in global warming because they represent an increasingly large share of the vehicle fleet. SUVs represented 10% of new car sales in Europe in 2010. In 2022, we are at 51%. (as my colleague Jean-Michel Normand explains well here) This trend is also at work in the United States and even in India. However, this increase implies an increase in oil consumption at the global level. The IEA explains that fuel consumption for cars is relatively stable… except for SUVs. Which means that more SUVs on the road generate more oil consumption and therefore more greenhouse gas emissions.
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