Climate activist group Extinction Rebellion has launched a new campaign in Christchurch, focussing on high carbon-emitting SUVs.
Their 'End Urban SUVs' project is encouraging supporters to stick emissions rating stickers on private vehicles they spot around the city.
Supporters are sent "starter packs", containing a bunch of the stickers, for a $10 donation. While the stickers are being added to vehicles without the permission of their owners, the group claims they're easily removable.
Activists are encouraged to enter the vehicle's number plate on the rightcar.govt.nz website to accurately determine the vehicle's carbon emission rating.
Dr Lin Roberts, a long-time climate campaigner and supporter of 'End Urban SUVs' claims vehicles used by tradies or in a rural setting would be exempt from the guerilla campaign.
"The target are ones that are clearly for prestige and status and not really thinking about their carbon impact."
The idea of the campaign is to start a conversation about the popularity of the utility vehicles, she said.
"Sales have increased 700% since 2009 and they're outweighing all efforts we're putting into making electric cars and all the rest of it. So many of the emission increases over the last few years have been because we're buying more SUVs."
However, Dr Roberts admits not all car owners will be pleased to find a sticker on their vehicle, and car companies spend millions on advertising SUVs compared with all other vehicles.
"SUVs are pushed so hard, and it's because the companies make so much more profit out of SUVs.
"So it suits the car companies to push them and use whatever tricks they can to persuade us to think that we really can't live without them".
The group hope their campaign will prompt people to think about being more socially responsible.
- By Geoff Sloan
Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air
