SYDNEY – Thursday 16 May 2024 – Greenpeace’s Electrify campaign, supported by thousands of our activists, achieved a monumental victory today, with caps on the pollution from cars put in place through New Vehicle Emissions Standards, which will mean cleaner air, less carbon in the atmosphere and more electric vehicles. 

Over 2 years, Greenpeace’s Electrify campaign mobilised thousands of supporters to do something about the third biggest source of Australia’s carbon emissions: the pollution from our cars.

We lobbied politicians, undertook hard-hitting research which poked holes in the self-interested arguments of the petrol car lobby, and together, we made New Vehicle Emissions Standards a priority for the Australian Government.

Electrify set out to transform Australia’s car purchasing habits by 1) convincing our Government to enact strong limits on pollution from new cars, which would mean more, cheaper EVs for sale and 2) use people-power to demand better from big companies who buy new cars for their corporate fleets.

Slowly but surely, we shifted the conversation on EVs and the benefits of moving to cleaner, cheaper to run cars. And today, the Australian Parliament passed the New Vehicle Emissions Standards into law – the first time Australia has ever placed a limit on carbon pollution from cars. 

This legislation will prevent 80 million tonnes of car-related carbon pollution from entering our atmosphere by 2035. For size, that’s how much the entire state of Victoria emits in a year! And each year that number will only grow, as older and inefficient cars are retired.

Pretty good from a standing start! But systemic change only comes when a critical mass of people demand it. Over 22,000 Greenpeace activists worked together to make that change happen under the banner of Electrify.

Together we:

  • Exposed the secret agenda of the car lobby, who were profiting from the pollution free-for-all with a front page story in the Sydney Morning Herald.
  • Made over 2000+ submissions to Government enquiries 
  • We held 40+ meetings with MPs and sent 11,000+ emails flooding their inboxes demanding them to take action. 
  • Put pressure on the federal government to clean up our roads by collecting 22,700 petition signatures.

Greenpeace is powered by ordinary people who help achieve momentous change. Electrify’s victory today is yet another testament to the strength and resolve of these everyday heroes.

This is the start of the energy transition we so desperately need, and the win today sends a clear message: Australia is ready to get off fossil fuels for good. Australians will now have the choice to move to electric vehicles, powered by sunshine and wind.