The Australian government announced on Friday that, in an effort to catch up with other developed economies, it would enact new restrictions aimed at reducing carbon emissions from vehicles. According to Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen, only 2% of cars sold in Australia are electric, compared to 15% in Britain and 17% in Europe, and the nation runs the risk of becoming a depository for automobiles that can’t be sold elsewhere.
The move on emissions comes in the wake of the centre-left Labor government, led by Anthony Albanese, winning the May election on a platform of reforming the nation’s climate policy in order to bring it in line with other developed countries. Scott Morrison, a former prime minister, claimed in 2019 that efforts to cut automobile emissions would “kill the weekend,” while other detractors contend that EVs would eliminate the common utility vehicles, or Utes, used by farmers and builders.
In the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), only Russia and Australia lack or are creating fuel economy rules, which drive automakers to produce more electric and zero-emission vehicles.
“The time for cheap politics, for saying it will ‘end the weekend’ or take away Utes is over,” Bowen told reporters at a press conference after his speech. “If you have an electric vehicle, you never need to lift the nozzle at a petrol station ever again,” he said.
Shifting to EV
As the federal government encourages more people to purchase low-emission vehicles, Australians will have a wider selection of electric automobiles. After a period of consultation, the government will also take action to reduce emissions from dirty cars by establishing national fuel standards for manufacturers.
After that, an Australian bank will stop providing loans for brand-new gasoline-powered cars starting in 2025, a move that it claims will push more people to purchase electric cars.
At a national EV conference on Friday in Canberra, customer-owned Bank Australia will make the announcement of its self-imposed restriction, claiming it is a responsible move to ensure that its lending policies did not “lock our clients into increased carbon emissions and increasingly expensive running expenses.”
Sasha Courville, the bank’s chief impact officer, declared that the 185,000-customer institution would keep funding loans for used cars with internal combustion engines since it understood that not everyone would be able to purchase an EV in three years.
The statement, she added, would convey the message that “if you’re considering buying a new automobile, you should seriously consider an electric vehicle, both for its impact on the climate and for its lifetime cost savings.”
