Oz Government Agency Proposes LV Emissions Standards

Australia’s Climate Change Authority is proposing strict, compulsory light-vehicle emissions standards as a way to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions and lower motorists’ fuel costs.

The authority, created by the previous government but targeted for extinction by Prime Minister Tony Abbott, is proposing the first phase of the mandatory standards be introduced in 2018 when the local manufacture of automobiles will have ended.

It says in a report the standards progressively would reduce carbon-dioxide emissions from new light vehicles to 105 g/km in 2025, almost half the current level of 192 g/km. There would be a review in 2021 to consider the operation and design of the scheme and recommend new national average targets for phase two, after 2025.

New-vehicle suppliers that sell more than 2,500 vehicles a year would be included in the proposed regimen and face financial penalties for failure to comply.

By 2025 the standard would bring Australia broadly into line with the U.S., but still trail tighter European Union targets by several years.

“Improving the efficiency of light vehicles is one of the least costly emissions-reduction options available to Australia,” the authority says.

It proposes the targets be set as an average across the fleet as a whole, rather than be applied to individual vehicles. This fleet-average approach would preserve customer choice in the purchase of light vehicles.

Implementation of a standard to reduce CO2 emissions to 105 g/km is estimated to increase the average cost of a new car in 2025 by about A$1,500 ($1,413). It says this would be offset several times by fuel savings of about A$8,500 ($8,010) over the life of the vehicle.

“Australia has an opportunity to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions and lower fuel bills for Australian motorists by making light vehicles more efficient,” the report says. “A light-vehicle emissions standard is the best way to achieve this.

“Reducing emissions from all light vehicles…would support Australia’s contribution to global efforts to limit the harmful impacts of climate change.”

The authority says transport accounts for 16% of Australia’s greenhouse-gas emissions and LVs alone account for 10%.

“Phase one of the proposed standard (2018-2025) is projected to avoid 65 million tons (59 million t) of emissions over the period to 2030, roughly equal to the current annual emissions of all light vehicles,” the report says.

It notes technologies to reduce fuel use and associated emissions are both readily available and relatively inexpensive.

“Australia lags behind many other countries in light-vehicle efficiency,” the report says. “While the efficiency of Australia’s light-vehicle fleet is improving over time, more can be done.”

Coinciding with the report, Australian Greens Party leader Sen. Christine Milne introduces a motion in the Senate calling for the gradual introduction of mandatory fuel-efficiency standards for new vehicles.

The motion notes new Australian cars consume more gasoline than those sold in China, India, Europe and Japan.

Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries CEO Tony Weber says the auto industry already has a strong track record in delivering continual improvements in CO2 emissions.

“Last month’s National Transport Commission information paper on carbon-dioxide emissions from new Australian vehicles shows that, on average, new motor vehicles in Australia have recorded 2.4% year-on-year CO2 reductions over the last decade,” Weber says in a statement.

He says the report fails to take into account the need for complementary market fuel-quality standards – such as 91-octane (95-RON) 10-ppm sulfur not available in Australia – to deliver CO2 targets similar to the EU’s.

“Without having world-quality fuel available in the marketplace, mandatory CO2 targets would impose cost on the community without delivering the expected benefits,” Weber says.

The FCAI says the authority doesn’t adequately recognize the fact consumer preference in Australia contributes heavily to motor-vehicle emissions levels.

“The reality is that Australians have the capacity to buy the vehicles the report alludes to; however, they elect not to,” Weber says. “New-car sales data shows that Australian consumers have a greater preference for heavier vehicles with larger and more powerful engines than consumers in the U.K.

“They also have a preference for a lower proportion of diesel-powered engines and a higher proportion of automatic transmissions, all of which contribute to higher emissions. Other governments around the world also provide significant incentives for the purchase of low-emission vehicles.”

Weber says any consideration to reduce transport CO2 emissions needs to be comprehensive.

 “It needs to consider how to reduce traffic congestion, the choice of transport mode and a taxation system that is also geared to achieve these outcomes,” Weber says. “The FCAI would be cautious about relying on any one policy mechanism to deliver further reductions.”