Published in Nature Climate Change, the study found that exported used vehicles generate at least 13-53% more emissions per mile than those that are scrapped or on the road in Great Britain.
Published in Nature Climate Change, the study found that exported used vehicles generate at least 13-53% more emissions per mile than those that are scrapped or on the road in Great Britain. The researchers used mandatory annual vehicle inspections – known as MOT tests – of all 65 million used vehicles on British roads between 2005 and 2021 to compare the pollution and emissions intensity of vehicles exported to those scrapped, destroyed, or driven in Great Britain.
The data revealed substantially higher rates of carbon dioxide and pollution generation in exported vehicles. Amongst the seven million vehicles legally exported from Great Britain, exported used cars generated at least 13% more carbon dioxide per kilometre than scrapped cars, and 17% more than used vehicles on British roads. Exported vehicles were also 3.3 miles per gallon worse on fuel efficiency than those sent to the scrapyard.
Lead author Dr Saul Newman, Research Associate at the Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Science and Demographic Science Unit at Oxford Population Health said ‘Our study reveals that the UK, a leading global exporter of used vehicles with high vehicle emissions standards inside its own borders, offshores vehicle emissions to lower-income countries who are already suffering the most from climate change.’
Read more at: University of Oxford
