‘Like a public shaming’: a night with the eco-activists deflating SUV tires

A group of Gen Z activists is targeting gas-guzzling vehicles as frustration mounts over US inaction on the climate crisis

On a searingly hot night in New York City, a group of mask-wearing activists grasping bags of lentils set out to stage the biggest blitzkrieg yet upon a new target for climate campaigners in the US - the tires of SUVs.

The group - a mixture of ages and genders - split up as midnight approached, heading down the streets of the Upper East Side, lined by some of the most expensive apartments in the world and a gleaming parade of high-end, parked SUVs. This type of vehicle is the second largest cause of the global rise in carbon dioxide emissions over the past decade.