Cities Power Partnership. Source: Climate Council
More than 100 Australian mayors and councillors are calling on the federal government to supercharge the country’s supply of affordable electric vehicles by legislating strong fuel efficiency standards.
In a joint statement by “Cities Power Partnership”, a Climate Council initiative, the 121 local government officials representing councils across Australia said transport is a significant source of emissions at all levels of government.
“Local governments are doing what we can to switch to electric vehicles (EVs), but our hands are tied,” they said in a joint statement.
“A lack of supply to Australia, and the strong federal policy to drive it, makes it difficult to transition our fleets, therefore limiting the availability of secondhand vehicles to communities. We urge the Federal Government to support our access to electric vehicles by legislating strong fuel efficiency standards.
The councils said world-class fuel efficiency standards would bring more low and zero emissions vehicles to Australian shores, helping accelerate the transition for councils, and the second hand market after three to five years.
“This ensures communities have access to the best technology at a fair price,” the councils said, noting that fuel efficiency standards exist in 80n per cent of the world’s market.
“Australia is one of the only wealthy countries without them, alongside Russia, Indonesia and Türkiye. As a result, Australia has become a ‘dumping ground’ for polluting vehicles, with few affordable and available EV options currently on the market.”
The joint statement urges the federal government to legislate fuel efficiency standards that:
- Are mandatory and deliver at least equivalent settings to those in other major markets.
- Give Australian drivers more choice and affordability than they have today.
- Support 100% of new vehicles sold in Australia to become zero emissions as soon as possible.
- Are reviewed and updated approximately every five years.
Dr Jennifer Rayner, the head of Advocacy at the Climate Council said, that three quarters of the Cities Power Partnership’s 180 members have at least one EV in their fleets.
“But many are keen to go entirely electric. Cheaper EVs will be the key to this,” she said. “For communities to reap the benefits of cleaner, cheaper-to-run vehicles, it is essential the Federal Government implements fuel efficiency standards to supercharge our EV supply.”
The Climate Council says if fuel efficiency standards had been introduced in 2016, Australia could have saved $5.9 billion in fuel costs and avoided 4,000 megalitres of imported fuel. This would also have avoided 9 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions – similar to the emissions from domestic aviation in a normal year.
The call from local government officials comes in the same week that the United States government is set to make a major announcement on vehicle emissions standards that could accelerate the world’s transition to EVs.
The new US standards are being described as “the nation’s most ambitious climate regulation” and could increase EV sales tenfold.
Mayors and Councillors united in calls for strong standards
Dr Heather Holmes-Ross, major of the city of Mitcham in South Australia, said the council is facing waiting periods of many months, and Andrea Metcalf, mayor of the City of Greater Bendigo in Victoria said their goal of having more than 100 light electric vehicles by 2030 is being held back by the limited options available in Australia.
“We also know that some people in our community are in a similar position,” she said. “They also want to be driving electric vehicles that are good for the environment, have lower running costs and are affordable.”
Lake Macquarie Council
Shane Rattenbury, the ACT minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction, said vehicle manufacturers are sending their cleanest vehicles to countries that demand low and zero emissions vehicles through effective fuel efficiency standards.
“For too long Australia has been left with less efficient and more polluting vehicles, which limits the choices Australians have when purchasing a new car,” he said.
“We need to set national fuel efficiency standards for vehicles to make sure we get the cleanest cars on our roads. Setting strong fuel efficiency standards is vital for meeting our emissions reduction targets and for making more affordable electric vehicles available to Australians.” said Rattenbury.
Local government officials join a growing chorus calling for change
The joint statement from the 121 Mayors and Councillors comes as a number of groups and leaders add their support for strong fuel efficiency standards.
Two weeks ago Senator David Pocock said that Australians could save $11 billion in fuel costs if we legislate strong standards:
“Australians are currently getting dudded when it comes to the range and price of electric vehicles that are available to us.” said Senator Pocock.
“And in large part that is because we don’t have fuel efficiency standards. We’re getting sent the world’s clunkers to Australia and we’re paying the price – (there is) $11 billion dollars of savings for Australians over five years if we can get the right fuel efficiency standards in place.”
In February Toyota was slammed after it was revealed that its submission to the government’s National Electric Vehicle Strategy proposed the inclusion of “super credits” and “off-cycle credits” which are essentially loopholes that can obscure manufacturers’ true emissions.
Another group consisting of more than 50 consumer and environmental groups representing millions of supporter in 26 countries recently called on Toyota to commit to phasing out the sale of internal combustion engine vehicles and to “end all anti-climate lobbying, immediately”.
Keyword: “Our hands are tied:” Australian councils call for tough fuel standards to drive EVs