Streetsblog USA today published my essay, Get the Facts About ‘Car Bloat’ and Pollution. I’ve cross-posted it here to allow comments.
— C.K., Feb. 1, 2024

The increasing size of passenger vehicles has been catastrophic for road safety, traffic congestion, climate viability, and household budgets. Compared to sedans, brawnier sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks are far more likely to kill other road users, to clog urban streets and suburban roads, to guzzle fuel and emit particulates and carbon, and to keep their owners on a treadmill of car payments and pain at the pump.
Not only that, SUVs and pickups — collectively designated “light trucks” by regulators (“deregulators” is more apt) — may even engender more driving by owners seduced by their roominess, faux road-worthiness and illusion of indomitability. All 12 of the dozen models most preferred by gasoline “superusers” — drivers in the top decile of U.S. gasoline consumption — are SUVs or pickups, with the Chevy Silverado and Ford F150 topping the list.
As I wrote earlier this week, superusers manage the bizarre feat of averaging 40,000 miles a year* — a quantity of driving that consumes 13 percent of their owners’ waking hours — while burning 22 percent more fuel per mile than other U.S. drivers’ rides. Ivan Illich was right.
Just after Thanksgiving, The Guardian added its two cents with a story headlined, “Motor emissions could have fallen over 30 percent without SUV trends, report says.” Translated: Global CO2 emissions from passenger vehicles would have shrunk by nearly one-third if not for vehicle upsizing to SUVs and pickups.
Startling and damning, right? But it’s a vast overstatement: The true 2010-2022 “lost reduction” in passenger vehicles’ carbon emissions due to the growing share of big trucks worldwide was just 6 percent — five times less than the reported 30 percent.
Wait, am I cutting SUVs a break on their carbon spewing? Not at all. To deal effectively with climate we need to be clear about what’s destroying it.
The false 30-percent figure — which you’ll soon see wasn’t the fault of the Guardian — has begun worming its way into energy and climate discourse. This is unfortunate, since it serves to reinforce emphasis on the types of vehicles being made, sold and driven, when American motorists’ carbon profligacy is the inevitable result of our oversupply of pavement and our bias against full-cost pricing of driving.
Whence the error?
The Global Fuel Economy Initiative is a think tank funded by the European Commission, the Global Environment Facility, the UN Environment Programme and the FIA Foundation. Notwithstanding the fact that FIA is the “philanthropic arm” of the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (aka Formula One auto racing), GFEI produces high-caliber analysis and research.
GFEI’s November 2023 report, “Trends in the Global Vehicle Fleet 2023: Managing the SUV Shift and the EV Transition,” meticulously examined passenger-vehicle fuel consumption over the 12-year period, 2010 to 2022, and found that average fuel use (and, hence, per-mile carbon emissions) dropped by an average rate of 1.5 percent per year.
If not for more and heavier SUVs, the average annual decrease in emissions, according to the report, would have been around 1.95 percent, a rate that is 30 percent greater than the actual decline rate.
A 1.5-percent annual decrease in fuel intake per mile calculates to a total 16.6-percent total drop during the period. (See math box at the bottom of this post for the arithmetic.) Had the annual decrease been 1.95 percent, its 12-year drop would have been 21.5 percent. The gap between those two drops means that bigger car size worsened fuel economy 6 percent more than if car size had remained the same.
The Guardian, before (left) and after I got out my calculator. There’s a difference, but it’s not sharp enough.
Accordingly, the headline in the story should have been, “Motor Emissions Could Have Fallen 6 Percent More Without SUVs, Report Says,” but that’s not exactly eyeball-grabbing. But don’t blame Guardian reporter Helena Horton. She wrote her story off of GFEI’s press release, which (incorrectly) trumpeted a lost 30-percent gain in fuel economy due to “the SUV trend.”
After being contacted by me, GFEI’s study director immediately acknowledged his comms team’s error and labored mightily to get The Guardian to run a full correction. As you can tell from the side-by-side story headlines above, he was only partly successful.
The image on the left shows the original Nov. 24 Guardian headline and lede, retrieved via the Web’s Wayback Machine. The image on the right shows the corrected headline and lede since Dec. 18. The alterations are subtle nearly to the point of invisibility. The new “30 percent more” is confusing (30 percent more than what?), and the subhead is unaltered and thus plain wrong to say that the fall in emissions “would have been far more” than it was, had vehicle sizes stayed the same. No, the fall in emissions would have been 6 percent more — not exactly “far more.”
Why it’s important to correct the error

The Guardian’s erroneous “30-percent-less” headline, though not its fault, has the makings of a honey trap. New York Times climate columnist David Wallace-Wells fell for it on Twitter, along with esteemed climate pundit David Roberts. The Colorado-based climate think tank RMI got ensnared as well, as did our own Kea Wilson at Streetsblog USA. (RMI and Streetsblog quickly corrected their flubs after I emailed.) Consider this post an antidote to future repetitions, or, at least, a means to correct them.
It’s also worth touching on the innumeracy required to imagine that auto upsizing — “car bloat” in the evocative phrase popularized by journalist David Zipper — as loathsome as it is, stood in the way of a 30-percent gain in world-average auto fuel economy. The typical difference between sedan and “light truck” mpg is only around 20 percent, so even a universal switchover from all sedans to all light trucks would have put only a 20-percent dent in fuel economy.
Of course, the actual carbon damage due to vehicle SUV-ification over the 12 years studied has been far less — just 6 percent as we saw above — on account of longer vehicle turnover times. This should have been readily apparent to The Guardian reporter as well as the journalists and advocates who repeated the error on social media or websites. Errant quantification is hardly journalism’s number one albatross — free-falling revenues and shrinking newsrooms are orders of magnitude more consequential — but it lurks under the surface.
With greater numeracy, it might be easier for journalists, advocates and policymakers to grasp that vehicle electrification and shrinkage alone aren’t going to cut auto emissions at the rate needed.
Driving too must shrink. Collectively, road pricing, congestion pricing, curb pricing, carbon pricing, better transit and livable streets are almost certainly at least as important for climate as improved miles per gallon.
Carbon Footprint
BYD Overtakes Tesla as World’s Biggest EV Seller in 2025
In 2025, China’s automotive maker BYD became the world’s largest seller of electric vehicles (EVs), overtaking U.S. EV pioneer Tesla for the first time. Data from multiple industry trackers shows that BYD sold about 2.26 million battery electric vehicles (BEVs) in 2025.
In contrast, Tesla delivered about 1.64 million EVs in the same year, marking a decline from its 2024 figures. This shift marks a major change in the global EV market.
From Challenger to Market Leader: BYD’s Breakthrough Year
BYD’s EV sales showed strong momentum throughout 2025. Its pure battery electric vehicle deliveries rose by roughly 28% year on year, reaching more than 2.25 million units worldwide. This steady growth allowed BYD to move ahead of Tesla in total annual BEV sales.
Tesla, by comparison, reported a decline of about 9-10% in overall vehicle deliveries versus the previous year. As a result, 2025 marked the first full calendar year in which BYD sold more battery electric vehicles than Tesla.

The gap became more visible in the second half of the year. Demand for EVs softened in some of Tesla’s key markets, particularly as higher interest rates and reduced incentives affected consumer spending. BYD, however, continued to benefit from strong demand in China and improving sales abroad.
By year’s end, the gap in total EV deliveries between the two companies grew to several hundred thousand units. This marked a clear shift in market leadership.
Quarterly data reinforced this trend. In the fourth quarter of 2025, Tesla delivered around 418,000 vehicles, representing a 15–16% drop from the same period in 2024. This decline reflected slower sales growth and increased competition.
BYD’s fourth-quarter BEV deliveries, in contrast, continued to rise. Its consistent quarterly growth helped push its full-year sales past Tesla’s and confirmed its position as the world’s largest EV seller by volume.
Why China’s EV Champion Is Scaling Faster
Several factors helped drive BYD’s expansion in global EV sales during 2025. A key driver was strong domestic demand in China, the world’s largest electric vehicle market.
Chinese automakers lead in local EV sales. This is thanks to consumer trust in domestic brands and a strong charging network in big cities. BYD benefited directly from this environment.
From January to November, industry estimates China’s NEV wholesale sales are about 13.78 million units. This shows a 29% increase compared to last year, and BYD captured a dominant 32% domestic share. This home-market strength fueled its global BEV leadership.

The product range also played an important role. BYD offers a wide lineup of EV models, including many lower-priced options that appeal to cost-conscious buyers. These vehicles attracted customers looking for practical electric cars rather than premium models. This broader appeal helped BYD reach a larger customer base than some competitors.
At the same time, BYD’s exports hit 1.05 million units in 2025, up 200% from the previous year. Europe and Latin America are key drivers of this growth. Globally, BYD claimed 12.1% of the BEV market in 2025, ahead of Tesla’s 8.8% and Volkswagen’s 5.2%, cementing the competitive shift.
Competitive pricing and improving vehicle quality helped BYD gain traction in these markets. Policy support also contributed, as incentives and trade policies in several regions made imported EVs more competitive.
Together, these factors allowed BYD to sustain sales growth even as demand softened for some rival brands.
Tesla Under Pressure in a Crowded EV Arena
Tesla’s sales declines in 2025 were linked to several challenges, including:
- Reduced demand after EV tax incentives ended in the United States, particularly the federal EV tax credit that expired in late 2025. This had encouraged buyers to purchase earlier in the year.
- Stronger competition from Chinese brands, not only BYD but also other manufacturers, is entering global markets.
- Market saturation in some regions, where potential customers postponed purchases or chose alternatives.
Tesla remains a major EV maker, but it saw its first consecutive annual drop in deliveries. By contrast, BYD increased its volume while expanding into new regions.
The EV Market Is Still Growing—But Leadership Is Shifting
The global EV market continues to grow, with total EV sales rising annually as more countries push toward cleaner transport. Analysts see strong demand for electric cars continuing this decade. Climate goals and stricter emissions rules in many areas support this trend.
Industry forecasts say global EV deliveries might keep growing until 2030. This growth is due to lower battery costs and more models from various automakers.
Industry forecasts project global EV sales reaching 40–50% of total car sales by 2030, up from ~20 million units in 2025. Battery pack prices have fallen to $115/kWh in 2024. They could further drop to $80–$99/kWh by 2026 (50% decline), enabling price parity with gas cars.

Nations in Europe and Asia are pushing zero‑emission vehicle targets as part of their climate commitments, which may further expand EV adoption.
Europe targets 90% CO2 cut by 2035 for new cars (easing from 100%, allowing some e-fuels/PHEVs). China aims for ~60–90% EV/NEV sales by 2030.
Still, challenges remain. EV buyer incentives vary by country and can affect sales patterns, as seen in the U.S. when federal credits expired. Some regions face infrastructure gaps, like limited charging networks, which can slow growth. Continued cost reductions and broader infrastructure rollouts will be key to sustaining EV adoption long term.
Emissions, Energy, and the Bigger Climate Picture
Electric vehicles are central to efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transport by 70–90% over their lifecycle compared to gasoline cars. This holds even with current grids.
- For EVs, emissions range from 200–500 gCO2/km, while ICEVs emit 200–300 gCO2/km.
Global transport represents 24% of CO2 emissions (8 GtCO2e). EVs could slash this by 40% by 2030 at 40% adoption. Clean grids, renewables >60% by 2030, boost EV advantage to near-total decarbonization.

Also, EVs produce zero tailpipe emissions and can lower overall carbon output when charged with renewable electricity. As more power grids shift toward clean energy sources, the lifetime emissions advantage of EVs grows.
BYD’s sales surge contributes to this global transition. As one of the largest EV producers, its growth means more EVs are on the road worldwide. This supports international efforts to cut emissions from passenger cars, which remain a major source of global greenhouse gases.
However, the environmental impact of EV manufacturing, especially battery production, remains a focus of industry and policy discussions. Sustainable practices in sourcing materials and recycling batteries will be crucial to maximizing the environmental benefits of EV growth.
A New Global Auto Order Takes Shape
BYD’s rise to the top reflects broader changes in the global auto sector:
- Chinese carmakers are gaining ground internationally, not just in their home market.
- Competition in EV segments is increasing, pushing companies to innovate faster on cost, range, and technology.
- Tesla’s leadership is challenged, even as it pushes into areas like autonomous driving and energy products.
The shift also highlights how consumer preferences are evolving, with buyers showing strong interest in different EV brands and models beyond traditional market leaders. As EV technology matures, more brands are expected to capture market share and expand globally.
The post BYD Overtakes Tesla as World’s Biggest EV Seller in 2025 appeared first on Carbon Credits.
Carbon Footprint
DOE’s $2.7 Billion Push for Uranium Enrichment Rebuilds U.S. Energy Security
The post DOE’s $2.7 Billion Push for Uranium Enrichment Rebuilds U.S. Energy Security appeared first on Carbon Credits.
Carbon Footprint
NVIDIA Controls 92% of the GPU Market in 2025 and Reveals Next Gen AI Supercomputer
NVIDIA (NVDA Stock) closed 2025 with a huge portion of the GPU market. Research data shows that the company held about 92 percent of the discrete graphics processing unit (GPU) market in the first half of 2025. This figure covers add-in boards used in personal computers and workstations. Its closest rivals, including AMD and Intel, held much smaller shares.
The company unveiled its new Rubin data center chips. They claim these chips are 40% more energy efficient per watt. This change aims to make artificial intelligence (AI) computing more sustainable.
NVIDIA’s GPUs dominated the sector used for gaming and AI. Despite challenges with its latest Blackwell GPU launch, the company’s lead remained strong. This article explains how Nvidia maintained this market position. It also explains how the company is tackling environmental and energy issues in its products and operations.
How NVIDIA Came to Control the Majority of the GPU Market
NVIDIA’s market share for discrete GPUs reached about 92% in early 2025, according to analysts tracking GPU shipments. This dominance was especially clear in desktop graphics cards. Competing firms such as AMD held much smaller portions, with AMD’s share closer to 8% and Intel below 1% in the same period.

Discrete GPUs are separate from CPUs and are the main components used for high-end graphics and data-intensive tasks. NVIDIA’s rise in market share reflects strong demand for its GeForce and AI-oriented GPU lines. Many industries, from gaming to data centers, use Nvidia chips because of their computing performance.
Despite this strong market position, the rollout of the Blackwell series of GPUs faced setbacks in 2025. Industry reports noted delays and production issues related to complex design and manufacturing steps. These issues slowed initial deliveries to customers. Company leadership said the problems were fixed, but they still affected how quickly new units reached buyers.
Why Energy Use and Efficiency are Significant for GPUs
Graphics processing units are energy-intensive components. AI and data center workloads consume substantial electricity. Because of this, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) concerns are now central to technology markets.

NVIDIA acknowledges the need to improve energy efficiency and reduce emissions. The sustainability report for fiscal year 2025 shows that the company uses 100% renewable electricity for its offices and data centers. This means all the electricity Nvidia buys for those facilities comes from renewable sources, such as wind or solar.
- In product design, NVIDIA promotes energy efficiency as a key measure of sustainability.
At CES 2026, NVIDIA unveiled its new Rubin architecture for data center GPUs. The company claims the chips deliver 40% higher energy efficiency per watt compared to the previous generation.
Unlike a single chip, Rubin combines six specialized chips that work together as one unified system. This rack-level design helps handle large AI workloads more efficiently, reducing power use while boosting speed. The new platform allows large AI data centers to operate more sustainably, making it a notable step in Nvidia’s push toward “Green AI.”
Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA, said:
“Rubin arrives at exactly the right moment, as AI computing demand for both training and inference is going through the roof. With our annual cadence of delivering a new generation of AI supercomputers — and extreme codesign across six new chips — Rubin takes a giant leap toward the next frontier of AI.”

Key components of the Rubin platform include:
- Vera CPU – a multi-core processor that manages data flow to keep GPUs busy.
- Rubin GPU – the main AI processor with next-generation compute engines and high-speed memory.
- NVLink 6 & ConnectX‑9 – fast interconnects for rapid communication between chips.
- BlueField‑4 DPU & Spectrum‑6 switch – manage networking, security, and data traffic efficiently.
This improvement tackles worries about increased power use in AI tasks. It also helps lower emissions from data center operations. Industry leaders, including Microsoft and Google, quickly endorsed the efficiency gains.
NVIDIA has set internal goals to cut emissions and to align reductions with widely accepted climate science targets. It works with many suppliers, especially those linked to its Scope 3 emissions. This helps encourage them to adopt science-based emissions goals.

NVIDIA’s ESG Progress Under Growing Scrutiny
Investors and customers now place greater focus on ESG performance. Environmental criteria include energy consumption, emissions, and resource use. Nvidia sits among tech companies that increasingly report sustainability metrics.
In fiscal 2025, NVIDIA reported progress on its environmental goals. This includes using more renewable energy and improving efficiency. These efforts do not yet translate directly into a formal net-zero emissions commitment for all scopes of greenhouse gases.
- SEE MORE: NVIDIA Posts Over $46B Revenue in Q2 But Stock Slides, Balancing Record Profits with Green Goals
However, they reflect measurable progress. The company’s renewable energy targets and supplier engagement aim to reduce its emissions footprint over time.

At the same time, critics highlight areas where NVIDIA’s broader impact remains unclear. Some assessments say large chipmakers need to improve supply chain emissions. They should also adopt more energy-efficient production methods. These factors are part of an ongoing discussion among investors and sustainability groups.
Using renewable electricity, improving energy efficiency in products, and tackling supplier emissions are key steps. They help NVIDIA reduce direct and indirect climate impacts from its operations. As AI and high-performance computing grow, these sustainability efforts may shape long-term industry standards.
AI Demand, Competition, and the Future of GPUs
NVIDIA’s strong market position affects the tech and semiconductor industries in many ways. The GPU sector supports not only gaming but also AI, cloud computing, scientific research, and automated systems.
NVIDIA is not just a leader in desktop GPUs. Analysts say its influence also covers AI accelerators in data centers. The company holds over 80% of the AI hardware market. This success relies heavily on its architecture and software ecosystem.
The Rubin architecture strengthens NVIDIA’s competitive position in AI hardware. The new 40% better energy efficiency attracts hyperscalers and large enterprises that want high performance without high power use. Analysts believe this may strengthen Nvidia’s lead in AI accelerators. It also helps address ESG concerns about energy use.
Elon Musk, founder and CEO of xAI, remarked:
“NVIDIA Rubin will be a rocket engine for AI. If you want to train and deploy frontier models at scale, this is the infrastructure you use — and Rubin will remind the world that NVIDIA is the gold standard.”
In data centers, NVIDIA reported strong revenue growth driven by demand for AI computing. Blackwell and other GPU families contributed heavily to this trend.
However, the company relies on third-party manufacturing and complex supply chains. This means production challenges can affect future performance. Continued competition from AMD and other firms may also reshape market share over time.
The strong demand for AI processing power has energy and environmental implications beyond NVIDIA alone. Data centers worldwide are expected to grow in electrical demand as AI workloads expand.

Researchers estimate that data centers could account for about 2% of global electricity use in 2025. This highlights how crucial energy-efficient hardware and renewable energy are for the industry.
What NVIDIA’s Dominance Means Going Forward
NVIDIA’s ability to end 2025 with a 92% discrete GPU market share highlights its technological leadership. It also reflects strong demand for AI and graphics hardware in computing markets. The Blackwell launch issues have shown how production challenges can affect schedules, but demand has remained resilient.
At the same time, NVIDIA’s sustainability actions reveal how ESG and environmental issues are increasingly part of how technology companies operate and compete. Renewable energy use, energy efficiency, and emissions-reduction efforts are not only regulatory or investor concerns. They influence product design and operational planning as energy use grows in AI and data center environments.
The post NVIDIA Controls 92% of the GPU Market in 2025 and Reveals Next Gen AI Supercomputer appeared first on Carbon Credits.
-
Greenhouse Gases5 months ago
Guest post: Why China is still building new coal – and when it might stop
-
Climate Change5 months ago
Guest post: Why China is still building new coal – and when it might stop
-
Climate Change2 years ago
Spanish-language misinformation on renewable energy spreads online, report shows
-
Greenhouse Gases2 years ago嘉宾来稿:满足中国增长的用电需求 光伏加储能“比新建煤电更实惠”
-
Climate Change Videos2 years ago
The toxic gas flares fuelling Nigeria’s climate change – BBC News
-
Climate Change2 years ago嘉宾来稿:满足中国增长的用电需求 光伏加储能“比新建煤电更实惠”
-
Carbon Footprint2 years agoUS SEC’s Climate Disclosure Rules Spur Renewed Interest in Carbon Credits
-
Climate Change2 years ago
Bill Discounting Climate Change in Florida’s Energy Policy Awaits DeSantis’ Approval






