Myth buster: Who's driving the most polluting vehicles?
When Rishi Sunak scrapped the phaseout date for new petrol and diesel car sales last month, we saw an ugly yet familiar narrative raising its head. A narrative which we see crop up each time cities introduce charges for high-emission vehicles. Namely, the myth that action against high carbon vehicles is an attack on the poor.
The tale that’s being spun is that policies to reduce petrol and diesel cars will mean that those who can only afford to drive cheap old petrol or diesel cars have to pay, while the wealthiest drive around in electric vehicles.
We crunched the numbers and found this isn’t the case. In fact, when it comes to greenhouse gas emissions, it’s the complete opposite.
Our research finds that, due to the growth in demand for bigger, heavy vehicles, it is the newer and more expensive petrol or diesel cars that are the worst for the climate.
Thus, cheaper, older cars aren’t the biggest problem for the climate - it’s the shiny SUVs that we need to worry about (and those come with a price tag much higher than a typical electric vehicle).
Who’s driving those high-carbon vehicles? You guessed it - those living in wealthy London boroughs like Westminster, Kensington & Chelsea, and Hammersmith & Fulham - where one in three new cars bought is now a large SUV, and sales of electric vehicles remain lower than those of new super-heavy-emitting new cars.
What now?
Councils are not yet doing enough to turn back the tide of SUVs, but there are promising signs of change coming. Right now, Camden Council are consulting on bringing in new parking rates for the heaviest emitting vehicles which would see them pay proportionately more for their pollution than cars with average emissions. This kind of progressive parking policy is exactly what councils that are serious about meeting their climate goals need to adopt.
So what can I do?
We’re in the process of creating a web tool through which you’ll be able to quickly and easily email your local council about emissions-based parking charges (to be notified when the webtool is ready, make sure you’ve opted in to receive our emails).
In the meantime, will you help us debunk the myth that action on climate is a threat to working people?
Presenting bold policies to address the UK’s climate impact as a threat to working people, is a strategic way to get the public behind government inaction, and to fuel a culture-war which could put the UK back decades when it comes to tackling the climate crisis.
We’re doing everything we can to debunk this harmful narrative, but we need people like you to help us get the word out.
If you agree that people should know the truth, please share this article with your friends and family?
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