A worldwide preference for bigger, heavier cars has led to a nearly sixfold increase in the number of sport utility vehicles on the road since 2010 — and made them the second-biggest contributor to the rise in carbon dioxide emissions, the International Energy Agency reported last week.
Only power generation is causing a greater increase in CO2 emissions.
SUVs are also the reason that oil demand from passenger cars has grown by 3.3 million barrels a day since 2010, while oil use from other kinds of cars has declined slightly.