Climate Tasmania Release Paper Calling for Transport Emissions Reductions

Media release – Climate Tasmania, 4 June 2023

Climate Tasmania Release Paper Calling for Transport Emissions Reductions

To achieve our legislated target of net zero by 2030, lutruwita/Tasmania needs to reduce its continued emissions. Transport, at 21% of Tasmania’s gross emissions, provides opportunities for immediate abatement.

But with electric vehicle ownership at less than 1% and public transport and active transport use low, more needs to be done to incentivise uptake. Despite this, there are no new programs for incentivising electric vehicles in this year’s state budget.

The Tasmanian Government did, however, commit to providing purchase price incentives, a grant program for e-bikes and e-scooters and improving public and active transport in its Climate Change Action Plan 2023-25, released last week. But this doesn’t go far enough.

With reference to other states and territories, our paper provides a roadmap for the policies the Tasmanian Government can implement to reduce transport emissions.

We recommend that the Tasmanian Government:

• Create an ambitious sector emission reduction plan for transport, by 2024, which sets a target for decarbonisation and policies to achieve it;
• Set targets for vehicle electrification, including 100% of all light vehicle sales to be electric by 2030 and 100% of the bus fleet to be electric by 2030;
• Provide purchase price incentives such as a registration waivers to all drivers and introduce a subsidy or rebate of $3,000, or loan scheme of $15,000;
• Scrap their commitment to introduce the ‘world’s worst EV policy’, an EV tax;
• Continue the ChargeSmart Grants program;
• Ensure that just as much resources are spent on decarbonisation of heavy vehicles like trucks and buses, given their decarbonisation potential;
• Creating a target for public transport increase, delivered by making services more frequent, cheaper, reliable and accessible; and
• Creating a target for active transport increase, delivered by improving physical infrastructure and driver education.

“The Tasmanian Government is falling behind its interstate counterparts, as the only state or territory without a policy document to reduce transport emissions or purchase price incentive for electric vehicles, such as a subsidy,” Rachel Hay, author of the paper and member of Climate Tasmania, said.

“Despite the urgent need to mitigate climate change through reducing our transport emissions, there are no new programs for vehicle electrification in this year’s state budget.”

“With transport sector emissions reductions plans in development, there’s no better time for the Tasmanian Government to commit policies which increase electric vehicles, public transport and active transport in our state.

“There’s a range of policy options available to the Tasmanian Government to increase electric vehicles in lutruwita/Tasmania: purchase price incentives, electrification targets and increasing charging infrastructure.

“The Tasmanian Government should scrap their commitment to an electric vehicle tax – a policy which experts have described as ‘the world’s worst EV policy’ due to its disincentivising of electric vehicle uptake through higher costs.

“Electrification of vehicles alone will not see the reduction of transport emissions that lutruwita/Tasmania needs. We need to see public transport and active transport increased through Government investment.”

Read the paper here: https://www.climatetasmania.org/wp-content/uploads/Climate-Tasmania-Plug-it-in-change-the-world-accelerating-electric-vehicle-uptake-in-lutruwita-Tasmnia.pdf.

Rachel Hay is a researcher, writer and campaigner, who’s a passionate advocate for action on climate change. She is a Member of Climate Tasmania and Research and Project Officer with Australia reMADE. Rachel’s worked with the Australia Institute Tasmania and the Tasmanian Independent Science Council on the review of Tasmania’s Climate Change Act. She was the Co-Convenor of Fossil Free UTAS, who convinced UTAS to divest $10 million from fossil fuels and become carbon neutral. She provided legal and policy advice at the UNFCCC COP25.

Climate Tasmania is a group of concerned professionals who have a diverse range of expertise, spanning scientific, legal, economic, health, energy, social and policy aspects of climate change. Our aim is “To provide timely, independent and authoritative advice to Tasmanian business, government and community leaders on climate change and appropriate policy responses.”