SUVs would be sixth largest carbon emitter if they were a country, Dáil committee told

More than half the new cars sold in Ireland so far this year are classed as small, medium, or large SUVs. File picture

SUVs would have been the sixth largest emitter of carbon in the world last year if they were a country, while cars are now 300kg heavier than they were since the beginning of the century.

Those were just some of the facts presented to the Oireachtas climate committee as it heard from a range of experts about how SUVs and larger vehicles are affecting our carbon emissions targets. Recent years have seen a drift towards SUVs and other large vehicles in new car sales.