NRMA Chairman's message to the latest Open Road: A sensible road map to lower emissions

"In recent weeks, debate has ignited between the automotive industry and advocates for tougher fuel efficiency standards in Australia. There’s no doubt this will grow in intensity in the coming months, particularly as the federal government has now committed to a 43 per cent cut of carbon emissions by 2030.

After consistently failing to introduce vehicle emission standards, Australia’s new-car emissions are worryingly high compared to Europe, Japan and the US. We sit alongside Indonesia, Russia and Turkey as the only G20 members without mandated CO2 standards. Introducing these standards would establish a set of phased targets and impose financial penalties on manufacturers failing to meet them. This will encourage improved fuel efficiency and increase the supply of electric vehicles to Australia.

While many are understandably arguing for tough targets to be introduced in Australia immediately, there are practical factors to consider. The impact of overly ambitious targets in the short term could push up the cost of new vehicles and restrict choice, while doing little to fast-track the uptake of electric vehicles that face a number of global constraints around supply.

Doing nothing is also no longer an option. Australia is decades behind the rest of the world and this adds to limitations on the targets we can set in a short term – catching up will take some time. The NRMA has been engaging with stakeholders to propose a working group of government and industry to make recommendations on what phased CO2 targets should look like for cars, SUVs and light commercial vehicles. This will ensure we get the best outcome to support the government’s Net Zero 2050 commitments.

With Australian fuel quality standards set to markedly improve before 2025, this is the time to finally ensure cleaner vehicles come into the country. More efficient vehicles lead to less fuel use, lower emissions and improved fuel security.

Our ultimate ambition should be to catch up to the rest of the world. This means ensuring the overwhelming majority of new sales are zero emission vehicles by 2035 – an important timeline to support Net Zero 2050. We owe it to our current and future generations to make up as much lost ground as possible."

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