Some of the world’s biggest car companies say Australia must urgently adopt globally competitive fuel efficiency targets if it wants to boost imports of affordable electric vehicles and ensure the carbon-intensive transport sector does its “fair share” of contributing to legally binding climate targets.
In a new submission to the Albanese government, the key industry group for electric vehicle manufacturers, retailers, importers and charging station suppliers recommends the introduction of credible and ambitious vehicle pollution limits to reward carmakers for bringing more low- and zero-emissions vehicles into the local market, and penalising those who do not.
The Electric Vehicle Council warns that increased car use following a downturn during the COVID-19 pandemic has driven transport emissions higher. Failure to restrain the sector’s carbon footprint would shift the burden of faster and deeper emissions cuts from carmakers to Australian farmers, manufacturers, energy suppliers and households, it says.
“This would not be a fair or equitable distribution of the economy-wide responsibility to support the achievement of the government’s legislated emissions reduction targets, particularly with transport already being the sector furthermost behind the government’s targets of a 43 per cent reduction by 2030, and net zero by 2050,” the submission says.
Australia trails globally on the adoption of electric vehicles. Just 3.8 per cent of new vehicle sales were electric last year, compared with 8 per cent in the United States, 23 per cent in Britain and 25 per cent in Europe, the International Energy Agency says.
The Albanese government has set a target to cut emissions 43 per cent by 2030, and net zero by 2050. NSW, Victoria and Queensland have set targets for EVs to reach 50 per cent of new car sales by 2030, and 100 per cent by 2035.
But without strict pollution limits that match the ambitious goals set by the United States and European Union, carmakers would have to target countries with more attractive policies, the council says.
The US fuel efficiency standard, forecast to cut the country’s emissions by 40 per cent by the end of the decade, is designed to boost sales of electric vehicles by 1000 per cent so that they account for 67 per cent of new passenger cars sold in the US by 2032.
BMW Australia spokesman Nick Raman says the government should set a fuel efficiency standard to play a “key role” in meeting Australia’s climate targets.
Volkswagen Australia’s acting managing director, Gabriele de Neidels, says the government should set a fuel efficiency standard that “aligns with world’s best practice”.
“It should commence as soon as possible. While Volkswagen brands are bringing more EVs to Australia next year, government mandated CO2 reduction is of benefit to everyone in this country,” de Neidels says.
Laurissa Mirabelli, a spokesperson for Volvo-backed electric vehicle maker Polestar, says Australia’s fuel-efficiency improvements are tracking significantly lower than the 2.8 per cent that the International Energy Agency calculates are needed to halve new light-duty vehicles’ fuel consumption by 2030.
“As an industry, we have to accept the significant contribution that we are making on the emissions profile of Australia,” Mirabelli says. “It’s not good enough to say that we should take a cautious approach because there are significant impacts of delaying the shifts to zero-emissions vehicles.”
Mirabelli says that because Australia is solely reliant on imported light vehicles, the government cannot rely on domestically developed solutions to address the vehicle emissions challenge. “Consequently, the regulatory framework bears a greater responsibility in establishing strong signals for both car manufacturers and consumers,” she says.
“Any future emissions standard is not a simplistic copy of an overseas standard,” the chamber’s chief executive, Tony Weber, said in April.
Extracted in full from: Electric cars: Australia needs stronger fuel efficiency targets, say car makers (smh.com.au)
