26 February 2014 — Consumer organisation CHOICE has joined forces with ClimateWorks Australia to urge the Federal Government to introduce a best practice light vehicle CO2 emissions standard, bringing Australia into alignment with policy in Europe and America.
ClimateWorks executive director Anna Skarbek said that Australia currently had no minimum standard for fuel efficiency [and therefore no standard for the resulting CO2 emissions].
“Our analysis [in conjunction with transport analysts Rare Consulting] looked at introducing best practice standards for light vehicles, targeting an average performance of 95gCO2/km by 2024. This would achieve more than a 50 per cent reduction in the average vehicle’s fuel use over 10 years compared to our current average of 199gCO2/km,” Skarbek said.
A briefing paper on the issue, Improving Australia’s Light Vehicle Efficiency, has just been released.
CHOICE chief executive officer Alan Kirkland said best practice emission standards would save money for consumers.
“Through decades of testing home appliances, CHOICE has seen than well-designed standards can have a powerful impact in reducing running costs,” Kirkland said.