Greener Living
SUVs Keep Oil Demand Ticking, Add 20% to Energy Emissions Growth
Vehicles drive along the 280 freeway in Menlo Park, California, US.
Photographer: Elijah Nouvelage/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
The love for ever-larger cars accounted for more than a quarter of the annual global demand growth for oil and 20% of the added energy-related CO2 emissions, according to the International Energy Agency.
Sport utility vehicles — heavier, less fuel-efficient and needier of critical minerals than smaller cars — accounted for a record 48% of global car sales in 2023, up from 41.4% in 2020 and 20.58% in 2013, according to the data in the IEA’s report.