Tires on hundreds of SUVs have been deflated by climate activists who want to make it 'impossible to own a huge polluting 4x4'
Tyre Extinguishers
- Climate activists are deflating the tires of SUVs in US cities to make them "impossible" to own.
- Tyre Extinguishers deflated almost 900 SUVs this week and hit 52 in Brooklyn, NY.
- The group has previously hit Pittsburgh and San Francisco as well as many European cities.
Green campaigners are deflating tires on SUVs as part of their campaign to make it "impossible to own a huge polluting 4x4" in an urban area.
Climate activist group Tyre Extinguishers said in a statement that it had deflated nearly 900 SUVs across the world, hitting 4x4s in cities including New York and Amsterdam.
Its members deflated tires on almost 900 polluting SUVs in eight countries on November 28 and 29, according to the statement. "This is the biggest coordinated global action against high-carbon vehicles in history, with many more to come."
The group said it deflated tires on 52 SUVs in the Dumbo and Brooklyn Heights area of New York City this week. It has claimed responsibility for hitting 4x4s in Pittsburgh and San Francisco in the past.
—The Tyre Extinguishers (@T_Extinguishers) November 29, 2022
Tyre Extinguishers began its campaign of targeting 4x4s in March, when it said it struck SUVs in 13 cities in the UK.
It calls the vehicles a "climate disaster" that cause air pollution and are more likely to kill pedestrians than cars. The group argued they are nit necessary in an urban area, and worsen climate change in the name of "vanity and conspicuous consumption."
At the time of its first attack spokesperson Marion Walker said: "Governments and politicians have failed to protect us from these massive unnecessary vehicles. SUVs are a climate disaster, they cause air pollution and are dangerous for other road users. Everyone hates them, apart from the people who drive them.
"Politely asking for climate action, clean air and safer streets has failed. It's time for action."
At the end of October, the group said it had "disarmed" 10,000 SUVs since beginning to deflate tires in March.
The action comes as the protest group Just Stop Oil use tactics including climbing onto gantries across freeways, forcing police to halt traffic, and slow-walking along streets in central London to protest against new oil and gas projects.
—Just Stop Oil (@JustStop_Oil) November 29, 2022