Australia’s plan to reduce CO2 pollution from the nation’s vehicle fleet has flopped, with emissions basically steady when they are supposed to declining substantially.
Not only is the typical Aussie not switching to electric vehicles as hoped, they are choosing to option up to the more polluting engines available in the car or ute they choose.
As a consequence CO2 only dropped by 0.2 per cent.
Australia has committed to a 26-28 per cent reduction (from 2005 levels) of pollution by 2030.
To meet that target in 10 years will mean an awful lot of people will be riding bikes!
That might sound extreme, but it is becoming clear that as governments and communities twiddle their thumbs while climate change burns the planet, extreme measure are certainly on the road ahead.
The latest tough proposals are coming from the federal government itself.
In a report on the progress of Decarbonising Road Transport Network Operations, Australians are being told to green-up or else.
In Australia the average CO2 emissions of all new cars sold in 2019 was 180.5g/km, compared to Japan at 114.6g/km and Europe at 120.4g/km.
We are even higher than the USA whose vehicle fleet emits 145.8g/km on average.
According to the report, Australia’s shameful result is because of the increased popularity of utes and medium and large SUVs — the very vehicles that can cause hideous injuries to bike riders and pedestrians.
The report clearly sees electrification of the fleet as an urgent priority.
But last year Australians purchased only 5875 electric cars, and half of those were Teslas.
We could soon have more electric bikes on the road than electric cars. And so we should.
And we would, if only our governments knew how to set incentives policy in ways that benefited the climate and human health.
The report acknowledges that there are a number of practical solutions available to address emissions, including a focus on liveability in street design, which incorporates cycling and walking infrastructure.
But it also raises other options which it says will be effective in getting emissions down.
One is road pricing. The report says there are several aspects to road pricing which make it a desirable mechanism for incentivising emissions reduction.
"Road pricing, whether for congestion zones or along corridors, provides a high level of user discretion in optimising the transport network for different outcomes.
"While it has primarily been used globally as a congestion management tool, it provides a strong mechanism for influencing and enabling emission reductions.”
Another level is parking
"Parking availability is one of the network levers that can influence road use behaviour. Parking restrictions can act in a similar way to congestion pricing for commuter traffic,” the report says.
"Parking restrictions for inefficient vehicles can support the take-up of EVs and can also drive behaviour change towards improved modal diversity. (They mean bikes).
"Co-benefits to parking restrictions include supporting better pedestrian infrastructure and land use optimisation in urban areas."
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