The car industry has launched a wide-ranging secret campaign that would delay Australia’s transition to electric vehicles and hamper a key part of the nation’s climate change plan, confidential documents show.
The FCAI aims to position itself to “be seen as a thought leader and trusted voice on reducing emissions”, the documents say. Its PR strategy is to “initiate, shape and appropriately participate in the EV discussion” via its campaign in the next few months. “We want a sensible debate predicated on the availability of technology, price points and what Australian consumers want to buy, not some sort of debate created around ‘we need to do something by 2050’,” Weber said.
“The current FCAI industry target achieves a reduction in CO2 emission from new car sales that exceeds both the Paris commitment of 26 to 28 per cent and the new government’s commitment of 43 per cent over 2005 levels,” the FCAI’s strategy says. Transport is Australia’s third-largest source of greenhouse gas emissions and the sector is getting dirtier, with CO2 output rising by 48 per cent since 1990 and most of those emissions coming from the tailpipes of cars and trucks on the road.
Currently, 88 per cent of new passenger vehicles sold are powered by internal combustion engines, with 10 per cent having versions of hybrid engines and just 2 per cent having battery-powered electric engines. Plug-in electric cars are less than 1 per cent of the market, the research shows. The strategy mirrors aspects of the approach used overseas by car manufacturers such as Toyota, which combines public statements about environmental stewardship with behind-the-scenes pressure on policymakers to weaken regulation of car emissions.
“Automotive industry associations are spearheading global opposition to climate regulation across major markets,” Influence Map concluded in a report released this year.