An activist strikes in the dead of night
(Picture: Tyre Extinguishers)Climate action activists have said they “will not stop” after deflating the tyres of “planet-wrecking” Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) in wealthy London neighbourhoods.
More than 40 4x4s were targeted in the dead of night in Primrose Hill, Kensington and Chelsea, Dulwich, and Notting Hill by a group calling themselves The Tyre Extinguishers.
The group declared they want SUVs banned in urban areas, pollution levies to tax SUVs out of existence and investment in public transport.
Concerned citizens deflated tyres on 100s of SUVs across the UK last night, in the first action in a new wave of climate protest.
— The Tyre Extinguishers (@T_Extinguishers) March 8, 2022
The Tyre Extinguishers, is a new movement springing up across the country, encouraging people to take action against urban SUVs. pic.twitter.com/tVOTsvOzcf
SUVs have already been “disarmed” in Paris, Bristol, Bordeaux, Glasgow, New Jersey and now London where Last Gasp vowed to make it “impossible to own one”, Extinction Rebellion claimed on Twitter.
In a manifesto on their website, The Tyre Extinguishers said the vehicles “exist purely for the vanity of their owners, who see them as a status symbol” and “SUV drivers tend to be richer and therefore tend to be white”.
A Dulwich Society spokesperson, a community group representing the leafy south London neighbourhood, said: “Several cars were vandalised in Dulwich last night with tyres deflated and this poster left on windscreens.
“We are environmentally friendly but this is not who we are as a community.”
Andy Meyer, a councillor for the City of London, called the activists “narcissists”.
He added: “Vandalising vehicles that may include doctors on call. Just pathetic and dangerous.”
A spokesperson for climate change activists Last Gasp defended their actions.
In a statement, the group said: “We disarmed these SUVs because they are a growing and needless part of the system that is killing us.
“Nobody needs a planet-wrecking SUV. To drive an SUV in an urban area with good public transport is a luxury – and it’s a luxury that has terrifying consequences for our planet.
“SUVs poison our children’s lungs, cause so many deaths on the road, and spew out carbon dioxide into a climate on the brink of collapse. If you are worried about getting your tyres deflated, our advice is: don’t own an SUV.
“We do not intend to stop, and many more will follow us. We wish we had other effective means to defend ourselves, but luxury emissions must stop now. Spend one afternoon reading the science and it is clear – people must take action now to defend life itself.”
Marion Walker from The Tyre Extinguishers 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.”
A study by think-tank New Weather Institute shows large SUVs are most prevalent in places such as Chelsea.
