Mouvement ecologique (Ecological movement, known as Mouveco) launched a protest against the growing tendency to buy bigger and higher performing cars.
Mouveco's Cédric Metz explained that he fears the development is going in the wrong direction. Metz went on to say that future generations will have to deal with the negative consequences resulting from cars, and current generations should instead aim to improve in terms of emission goals. However, that goal is increasingly difficult with public space being dominated by large cars.
Mouveco's press release highlighted the effects of the Autofestival, the biggest event for car dealers in Luxembourg. The press release outlined the tendency towards buying bigger and higher performance cars, which in turn uses more resources such as fuel despite more efficient motors. The organisation is fundamentally concerned with the higher emissions resulting from these cars.
The release cited European statistics confirming the development: "The sales of SUV’s (sport utility vehicles) have boomed in the last few years. For instance, in 2017, close to one third of new registered cars the Grand Duchy were SUV's. Not only the purchase of SUV’s, but also the demand for high performance cars in Luxembourg is significant. Luxembourg ranks second in Europe in terms of average horsepower with 164hp."
It went on to deplore the need for these bigger cars and implored consumers to change habits to focus on the environment. Drawing attention to the Autofestival's adverts highlighting the benefits of owning a new car, Mouveco instead issued a reminder that road traffic is one of the beggist sources of CO2 emissions in Europe.
Finally, the organisation ended by claiming that parking spaces are being expanded to accommodate increasingly bigger cars rather than limiting the size of cars to fit parking spaces.
Parking problems: Are parking spots too tight for modern cars?
Knowledge Bites: The Luxembourg Autofestival
