Australia plans fuel-efficiency standards to encourage electric vehicle use

AUSTRALIA will introduce its first fuel-efficiency standards by the end of the year, as part of the government’s plans to encourage the use of electric vehicles and cut carbon emissions.

The nation is one of the last developed economies without fuel-efficiency standards that govern the amount of pollution a car is allowed to emit. Since coming to office in May, the centre-left Labor government has moved to toughen Australia’s action on climate change, introducing the country’s first emission reduction targets in 2022 and passing legislation to place caps on major polluters.

The government will consult with industry and community to finalise details in the coming months and then put the new standards in place by the end of 2023, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Catherine King said in a statement on Wednesday (Apr 19).

“More than 85 per cent of all cars sold in the world are subject to fuel-efficiency standards,” King said in the statement. “It’s time Australians were offered the same choice.”

The announcement was made as part of Australia’s first national electric vehicle strategy. Passenger cars produce about 10 per cent of Australia’s emissions and fuel standards could cut at least 3 million tons of carbon dioxide by 2030, and more than 10 million tons by 2035, the government said. BLOOMBERG