Photo: The Guardian
The Australian Automobile Association has recently announced an 18-month research plan into the emissions of new vehicles that will help inform the creation of a national emissions regime under the Federal Government’s Ministerial Forum.
This comes after AAA’s CEO, Michael Bradley, has stated that his association is concerned that the government has no capacity to test, audit or enforce elements of its current vehicle emissions regulatory regime.
Bradley has also said that the Dieselgate scandal shows that regulators across the globe need to assess the emissions produced by vehicles in the real world, not only those produced in the laboratory.
To this purpose, the AAA has commissioned an independent engineering firm to start on-road testing from early 2016. This entity will analyze emissions produced by popular cars "sold on the Australian market when driven on Australian roads and in Australian conditions," according to Caradvice.
More and more governments are trying to do something in this direction because, they say, it is imperative for customers to know the real emissions and fuel rate of a car they want to buy, in real conditions and driving situations, not in laboratories or closed courses.
A Ministerial Forum chaired by the Minister for Major Projects Paul Fletcher was formed in October with the purpose of developing a new approach to the issue of vehicle emissions.
Some options for managing fuel quality standards, the implementation of Euro 6, new reporting standards for air pollutants and new measures to deliver Australia’s 2030 climate change targets of reducing greenhouse gas emissions below 2005 levels and improving national energy productivity by 40 per cent were also taken into consideration.
Australia already has in place two consumer information programs: one that is mandatory and refers to new cars' fuel efficiency labels, and a second one that is made through the Green Vehicle Guide and aims to assist consumers to make informed purchasing decisions.
Bradley has also said that the Dieselgate scandal shows that regulators across the globe need to assess the emissions produced by vehicles in the real world, not only those produced in the laboratory.
To this purpose, the AAA has commissioned an independent engineering firm to start on-road testing from early 2016. This entity will analyze emissions produced by popular cars "sold on the Australian market when driven on Australian roads and in Australian conditions," according to Caradvice.
More and more governments are trying to do something in this direction because, they say, it is imperative for customers to know the real emissions and fuel rate of a car they want to buy, in real conditions and driving situations, not in laboratories or closed courses.
A Ministerial Forum chaired by the Minister for Major Projects Paul Fletcher was formed in October with the purpose of developing a new approach to the issue of vehicle emissions.
Some options for managing fuel quality standards, the implementation of Euro 6, new reporting standards for air pollutants and new measures to deliver Australia’s 2030 climate change targets of reducing greenhouse gas emissions below 2005 levels and improving national energy productivity by 40 per cent were also taken into consideration.
Australia already has in place two consumer information programs: one that is mandatory and refers to new cars' fuel efficiency labels, and a second one that is made through the Green Vehicle Guide and aims to assist consumers to make informed purchasing decisions.
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