Transport is the one sector where Australia hasn’t reined in the growth in greenhouse gas emissions. Electric cars will cut emissions but still leave us with all the other problems of car use.
Anthony Albanese will promise a Labor government would deliver a discount to cut the cost of electric cars and install community batteries, in initiatives costing $400 million over several years.
Australia has a lot of work to do to overcome the challenges facing electric vehicles users, starting with the lack of a comprehensive national charging network.
Emissions from road transport in New Zealand have doubled since 1990, and the Climate Change Commission recommends sweeping changes to switch to electric transport options.
The benefits of road-user charging are now well established. And including electric vehicles doesn’t have to be a deterrent to their uptake, as New Zealand and other nations have shown.
Electric vehicles would lower emissions, but if their lower running costs lead to increased car use that creates a whole lot of other costs for our cities.
Professeur senior d’analyse financière, d’audit et de risk management - Directrice de Programme pour le MSc Fashion Design & Luxury Management- Responsable de la spécialisation MBA "Brand & Luxury Management", Grenoble École de Management (GEM)