<
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/apr/05/australias-high-polluting-utes-spark-calls-to-change-fuel-efficiency-laws>
"Australia’s top-selling utes are among the most expensive and polluting
vehicles to run and their popularity means transport emissions are projected to
remain high as manufacturers funnel their least efficient models to the
Australian market due to a lack of fuel-efficiency standards.
In its
Ute Beauty! report the Climate Council argues that while the goal to
decarbonise transport in Australia has to rely on electric vehicles including
utes in the long term, “this won’t happen overnight” and new laws are needed in
the interim to shift Australians away from high-polluting utes and into the
most efficient models on the market over the next decade.
The report comes amid surging uptake of SUVs and dual cab utes in Australia
over the past decade, which has seen transport emissions spike as comparable
nations reduce theirs. Experts argue various tax perks are incentivising the
uptake of larger vehicles and Australians are paying billions of dollars extra
at the bowser each year to fuel these cars.
Dr Jennifer Rayner, the head of advocacy at the Climate Council, said “while
it’s true that electric vehicles and utes might not be accessible in the near
future for everyone”, there needs to be an interim solution to address the
emissions impact."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
