Australia, Ahead of Planned CO2 Cuts

Australia is apparently making huge progress when it comes to cutting its CO2 emission levels and, according to the first report on emissions for the country's new light vehicles, that progress is well ahead of the planned schedule.

According to the Carbon Emissions from New Australian Vehicles report, drafted by the National Transport Commission’s (NTC), the national average carbon emissions was last year 222g of CO2/km, meaning a 12 percent reduction than the levels recorded in 2002 and the same level expected to be reached no sooner than 2010.

“The report confirms the industry is ahead of schedule in meeting the existing target of 222 grams of CO2 per kilometre by 2010,” Andrew McKellar, Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) CEO said according to GoAuto.

“The industry has achieved a 12 per cent reduction in emissions in six years but the work has not stopped and new technology is being continuously rolled out to further improve this result."

“This study provides a valuable snapshot of new vehicle emissions and will be a useful input as the industry and government consider future strategies for continued progress.”

For the future, the outlook is even better, with the report pointing to a reduction in the national average of about 34 percent, to a record 146 g of CO2/km in the near future.

"The data in this paper reveals that if all new vehicle purchasers bought the lowest emission car available in that class, national average emissions could be cut by a third,” Tim Eaton, NTC general manager concluded.

“Light vehicle carbon emissions account for 10 per cent of emissions in Australia and reducing these is going to be an important part of the nation’s response to climate change.("