What We Are Reading
Australia’s love for fuel-hungry and fuel-inefficient SUVs is hampering our ability to bring transport emissions down. SUVs make up half of all new car sales last year, a National Transport Commission report revealed this week – up from a quarter of all sales a decade ago. As a result, the carbon emitted by all new cars sold in Australia dropped only 2% in 2021, the report found. Sales of battery electric vehicles tripled last year, but still makeup just 0.23% of all cars and light commercial vehicles on our roads.
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MRP has observed the trend in SUV sales in Australia and New Zealand, which are similar. This article well highlights the massive impact SUV have on transport emissions. Unfortunately, a similar trend is also noticed in the sales of larger EV types, as private car owners have become addicted to the SUV standard and features. And this is completely counterintuitive, as larger SUV type EV have much higher LCA emissions as well, and likely produce as much if not more PM 2.5 particles due to their larger mass compared to ICE SUV. So while it is somewhat positive for our governments to propose a switch to EV, with the caveat that renewable low carbon footprint energy is 100% available for re charging, on the other hand an unfettered approach to the switch might leave us in the same environmental lurch.
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Read MoreOne reason why commuters in Kuala Lumpur are less inclined to use public transport is that most of them don’t live near a transport hub. A recent survey undertaken by the MRP shows that on average, respondents needed a 30 to 33-minute walk to their nearest public transport connection. The end result? More cars on the roads, means increased emissions, crashes, and congestion.
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