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Climate Activists Deflate Tyres of 60 SUVs in City Hosting COP26

"If 4x4 drivers were a nation, they'd be the 7th biggest polluters on the planet", activists said.
Simon Childs
London, GB
​A 4x4 in Glasgow with its tyres deflated. Photo: Supplied
A 4x4 in Glasgow with its tyres deflated. Photo: Supplied

Activists have deflated the tyres of dozens 4x4s or SUVs in the city hosting the COP26 climate conference.

A group calling themselves Tyred of SUVs claimed responsibility for deflating the tyres of 60 SUVs in Glasgow.

The activists also placed satirical parking ticket-style flyers on the windows of the vehicles, explaining what they had done.

The flyers read: "ATTENTION. CLIMATE VIOLATION. Your SUV contributes to the second biggest cause of carbon emissions rise in the last decade.

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"This is why we have disarmed your car by deflating one or more of its tyres. If SUV drivers were a nation, in 2018 they would have ranked as the 7th biggest emitter of CO2.

"Unnecessary luxury lifestyle choices in rich countries are part of what is driving the climate breakdown. This process is already having devastating impacts on people in poor countries… and we won't be spared here either."

The flyers call for drivers to change their habits, saying: “ACTION IS REQUIRED FROM YOU: GO SMALL, GO PUBLIC TRANSPORT”.

Growing demand for SUVs was the second largest cause of increased global CO2 emissions from 2010 to 2018, according to analysis from the International Energy Agency, an intergovernmental organisation which advises its members on energy security. During that time period emissions from the SUV market doubled to become more than those of the UK and Netherlands combined, offsetting the increased efficiency of smaller cars and electric vehicles.

Fin, a member of Tyred of SUVs who only gave their first name, told BBC Radio Scotland, “We feel we need to do this because we need to point to the people who are responsible – rich people in the global north.

“This is a minor inconvenience that is not going to disrupt them in a huge way. What is really going to disrupt people’s lives and kill them is the climate crisis caused by rich people – basically SUV owners.”

The action is one of a number of protests around the COP26 summit. Sixteen activists were arrested on Monday night for blockading a business dinner at the conference. Analysis from Global Witness found that oil and gas companies sent more delegates to the conference than any single country.

Wednesday was transport day at COP26, but critics complained that it became “electric car day”, with walking, cycling, trains and buses all but excluded from the agenda.

Today is the final day of COP26. Negotiators are in a last-ditch effort to strike a deal that would keep hopes of keeping global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius alive but it is unclear if an agreement will be reached.