Australia risks being dumping ground for ‘gas-guzzlers’
Jennifer Dudley-Nicholson |
Australia risks becoming a dumping ground for “outdated gas-guzzlers” after the United States launched ambitious policies to cut vehicle pollution and accelerate the adoption of electric cars, lobby groups warn.
The US proposals, announced by the Environmental Protection Agency early on Thursday, would set stricter limits on car emissions and could see electric vehicles account for 67 per cent of new car sales in the country by 2032.
The policy update would build on America’s existing fuel-efficiency standard.
But automotive and environmental experts say the proposals will put pressure on Australia to introduce its own electric vehicle policies quickly or risk being left behind by major nations.
Electric Vehicle Council chief executive Behyad Jafari said the bold US changes meant the “buzzer has sounded” for Australian policies and the federal government needed to launch its plans for a fuel-efficiency standard quickly.
Failing to take action, he said, could mean Australia only received high-polluting petrol and diesel vehicles no other country would allow on roads.
“This shift in position from the US is of monumental consequence to Australia,” Mr Jafari said.
“Car companies will now be racing to meet the more stringent standards set in the US, Europe, China and even New Zealand.
“Australia will be dumped with their outdated gas-guzzlers because it will be one of the only markets where there will be no consequences for doing so.”
Greenpeace senior campaigner Lindsay Soutar welcomed the US announcement, saying it had the potential to cut air pollution, create jobs and save drivers money.
But she said America’s pollution-cutting policy highlighted Australia’s failure to delivery its own vehicle standards.
“This announcement by the Biden administration should come as a wake-up call for the Australian government to speed up investment in clean car technology and implement a strong fuel-efficiency standard,” she said.
“These new rules show once again how far Australia is behind the rest of the world.”
Electric cars accounted for 6.79 per cent of all new vehicle sales in Australia during March – significantly lower than New Zealand’s tally of 22 per cent of all light vehicle sales.
Fuel-efficiency standards, like those in the US and New Zealand, set a pollution target for automakers to meet across their entire fleet, encouraging the import of low and zero-emission vehicles.
Australia is one of four major economies without a standard, alongside Russia, Turkey and Indonesia.
The policy was raised in the federal government’s National Electric Vehicle Strategy discussion paper in September last year, which attracted more than 500 submissions.
The government has yet to issue its response.
But 120 mayors and local councillors from across Australia published a letter to the government on Wednesday, urging it to introduce a fuel-efficiency standard to address long delays and high prices for electric vehicles.
AAP
