Summary/Abstract
The United States, European Union, Japan and United Kingdom collectively supply 90% of used vehicles exported to (non-EU) low- and middle-income countries. Many of these countries lack vehicle emissions standards, and policies designed to reduce transport emissions often overlook the international flow of used vehicles.
In this peer-reviewed study published in Nature Climate Change, the authors quantify the rate at which used vehicles generated CO2 and pollution for all used vehicles exported from Great Britain—a globally leading used vehicle exporter—across 2005–2021. The authors find that exported vehicles fail roadworthiness standards in Great Britain and, even under extremely optimistic ‘functioning-as-new’ assumptions, generate between 13–53% more emissions per kilometer driven than scrapped or on-road vehicles. In particular, the authors find that exported cars generate at least 23 g (13%) more CO2 per kilometer than cars scrapped in Great Britain in the same period, and at least 29 g (17%) more CO2 per kilometer than the contemporary on-road used car fleet in Great Britain. This finding suggests that, “rich countries appear to be offshoring the cost of replacing high-polluting vehicles,” shifting a significant portion of transportation emissions to other countries rather than eliminating them entirely.