Climate activists have deflated the tyres of scores of SUVs across parts of London overnight.
Notes have been left by the group – Tyre Extinguishers – on the sports utility vehicles apologising for targeting the “gas guzzler” cars.
Thought to be a splinter group of Extinction Rebellion, it said it wanted to “make it impossible to own an SUV in the UK’s urban areas”.
Vehicles in Chelsea, Chiswick, Notting Hill and Belgravia have been targeted.
Other areas in the capital said to be hit included Harley Street, Hampstead Heath and Clapham.
It is Tyre Extinguishers’ first action as part of a series of protests, the group said.
In a statement, the group said it wanted to see bans on SUVs in urban areas, pollution levies to tax SUVs out of existence, and more investment in public transport.
SUVs, sometimes nicknamed “Chelsea tractors”, are typically defined by their large size and off-road features such as high ground clearance and four-wheel drive.
A study by the International Energy Agency said increasing demand for SUVs was the second biggest contributor to the growth in carbon emissions.
Annual emissions from SUVs rose to more than 700 megatonnes of CO2, and if SUV drivers were a country they would be seventh in the world for carbon emissions, the agency claimed.
