I think this is just another news cycle to pit normal citizens against each other to blame for current crisises. Given the utility of an SUV, I assume the difference is marginal.
I live in a city with elevations and I'm hard pressed to find any MPVs on the road. I see MPV (vans) broken down on the side of the road because they lack the horsepower to go up and down the highway every day. I don't have an issue with MPVs and wish most short haul businesses used them instead of pick-up trucks, but they just don't offer the same benefits as an SUV.
I own an SUV (clearly), it gets good mileage (27-34), I travel across the country in it, and I can't tell you how many times it has been useful on the pavement having that extra power and height for safety reasons. Is the hate on SUVs how big they are? Is it because it's considered a symbol of status? MPVs are not better mileage wise, unless you are comparing a new MPV to an older 2001 SUV. Hell, Jeeps have the worst MPG and no one is complaining about them.
I'm talking from an European view where we replaced the MPV body style with the SUV body style. Basically the same type of car underneath, some models even kept their name during the transition. I'm still quite flabbergasted in how we ended up in this situation.
It is true that they don't take more space/consume more but they have zero usability advantages vs an MPV?
They are more cramped, waste space with the higher floor/ bigger wheels, and you don't even have a better visibility since you are more upright in an MPV.
The only thing they have is not looking like an MPV.
I'm pretty sure the general recipient of attacks on SUVs is the manufacturers. They're the ones building and advertising the planet killers, and lobbying against restrictions.