The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries argues the target will be critical in Australia’s efforts to meet its climate obligations as part of the Paris agreement and will ensure customers have the best choice of vehicle technologies ranging from full electric vehicles,hybrids to efficient internal combustion engines.
Greenhouse gas emissions within the transport sector represent almost 20 per cent of Australia’s annual totals with carbon levels from the automotive sector around half of that figure. Drastically reducing emissions in the sector is viewed as critical if Australia is to achieve a 26 to 28 per cent decrease from 2005 levels by 2030.
Australia has come under increased pressure from Britain,Europe and the United States to commit to a target of net zero emissions by 2050 ahead of a United Nations climate summit later this year.
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The country lags behind the world’s leading economies in adopting emissions targets for the transport sector,adopting fuel-efficiency standards and improving fuel quality,which is rated well below the standard used in many developing countries.
FCAI chief executive Tony Weber said “robust yet realistic” vehicle emissions targets were necessary to manage the transition to lower-emissions technologies but Australia would also need considerably improved fuel standards to take advantage of the latest advances available.
He said carmakers would prioritise vehicles for markets where there was customer demand driven by a “clear direction and commitment” to emissions reduction.