Frequently Asked Questions

Transport is the third highest source of Australia's climate pollution and is heavily influenced by business decisions. When businesses electrify their fleets, this will rapidly drive down transport emissions.

Plus, when businesses buy electric cars, that makes it easier for everyday Aussies to buy an electric vehicle, because fleet vehicles drive the second-hand car market.

We know that our climate is changing and that we need to act fast to ensure that we reduce our impact on the planet. Transport is the third largest (and fastest growing) source of emissions in Australia - with cars, buses and vans contributing 11% of total emissions - so making rapid cuts to emissions from the transport sector is crucial to achieving a zero emissions economy. Zero emissions electric vehicles are an essential part of this picture.

We also know that petrol prices and energy instability are rising, so shifting to an electric vehicle also makes economic as well as environmental sense. Without action from the Federal Government Australia has become the dumping ground for the world’s most polluting cars, meaning higher costs for both the environment and Australian hip pockets. On average EVs are shown to save motorists up to $8,500 over the life of the vehicle in fuel and maintenance costs, and each petrol vehicle on Australian roads equates to around $140 per year of healthcare cost to the Australian system.

Greenpeace Australia Pacific are prioritising this campaign around vehicle electrification and fuel efficiency standards as this is widely agreed to be a critical step to clean up pollution from cars in Australia. Cars, vans and utes currently make up a total of 11% of emissions in Australia - and these emissions have been rising fast, with no current plan to bring them down. Australia is one of the only major developing countries without emissions standards on cars, and if this doesn't change, these emissions will only continue to increase.

Is a fuel efficiency standard and more electric vehicles enough to cut transport emissions in Australia? No way! We also need to ensure that a switch to EVs is also part of a wider change that sees us get cars off the road, and a lot more people into affordable, accessible alternatives in public and active transport. Major investments are required in bikes and e-bikes, rail, tram and bus, and local walking and bike networks and infrastructure. Giving people accessible options that work for them and our environment, is essential to decarbonise our transport sector.

Read more about our campaign for Fuel Efficiency Standards.

The charging network in Australia is sufficient to support the number of EVs on our roads right now. It is in the interest of the charging companies to ensure that their charging networks grow with the increased ownership of EVs. Increased public and private investment has set Australia well on the way to ensuring we have the infrastructure needed to electrify our transport.

What the charging companies want and need is assurances around the speed and scale of the transition from petrol and diesel vehicles to EVs. Once they have this they will be able to ensure that the charging network is always growing at the same pace as EV ownership. By setting public commitments, companies are enabling charging infrastructure companies to invest with greater certainty. Government policy also has a key role to play in enabling infrastructure investment, to read more about our policy campaign click here.