The goal of the Paris Convention is for all nations to have a pathway to net zero carbon emissions. Ideally by 2050 but if not then soon after. The Australian federal government is hedging its bets on whether net zero by 2050 is achievable. While climate activists are disappointed by what they regard as federal foot dragging, they should be encouraged by the fact that all Australian states and territories have committed to the net zero carbon by 2050 goal. Does this suggest that there is a much greater commitment to climate abatement at a state level or are state plans simply aspirational, feel good documents that conveniently ignore the fact that real action (and associated political risks) remain a federal responsibility?
To the extent that state governments can demonstrate leadership and drive real decarbonisation change what are state and territory governments doing to reduce the carbon footprint of their own, not insignificant light vehicle fleets. Looking at electric vehicle (EV) friendly actions reflects the growing likelihood that ever cheaper renewables are making decarbonisation of electricity generation a done deal. JTZC has argued on several occasions that this should result in a much sharper focus on EVs. Australia remains a global laggard when it comes to emissions from the transport sector and this is an area where state governments could perhaps drive real change. So let’s compare state level EV policies as well a quick review of how these policies are translating into actions.
The table below comes from the Electric Vehicle Council (1) and shows a state by state comparison of EV friendly policies . The jurisdiction with the most ticks is South Australia which comes as little surprise given the commitment to climate and decarbonisation from a series of labor governments since 2002. Second on this simplistic metric is the ACT where the Greens are part of the ruling coalition. Amongst the other states the most notable point is the apparently friendlier EV environment in NSW when compared to Victoria which is a bit surprising given recent Victorian governments have notionally been more climate friendly than NSW.
Some of the categories in the table above, such as discounted parking or preferential lane access, can be categorised as either window dressing or trivial virtue signaling. A more friendly analysis would need to conclude that while they are not game changing they fit into the “every little bit helps” category. In terms of more substantive policies, it is encouraging that support for charging infrastructure exists across all states and territories. An ability to repower EVs at locations other than private homes and businesses is obviously a key issue and something worth examining in more detail in a future post.
Also significant is that some states have adopted meaningful EV targets for the state government light vehicle fleets. In some instances these targets have translated into actual procurement practices. Converting a significant portion of the sizable state owned light vehicle fleet to EVs promotes both increased charging infrastructure and also creates a market for lower priced ex government vehicles. Based on a quick google search some basic statistics about state EV ownership is provided below
South Australia
There is evidence that South Australia has been active in reducing the number of fossil field vehicles in the state light vehicle fleet. An EV penetration rate of 38.5% is pretty impressive – in line with what the best European countries achieve on a national basis.
Government owned/leased Light Vehicle fleet: 3,238 vehicles
% PHEV/EV = 38.5%
Number of PHEV/EVs = 1206/37
Of some concern, however, is that EV penetration seems to have plateaued over the past 2-3 years. This may be the consequence of a new liberal government but it might also reflect that the easy EV substitutions have been tapped out and applications requiring long distance or remote travel are proving harder to shift away from petrol and diesel vehicles. It might also reflect resistance at a departmental, especially where a shift to EV could mean redundancies. It is also interesting to note that Plug in Hybrids (PHEVs) which use a combination of an electric battery and an internal combustion engine are the EV of choice in South Australia. This reduces the pressure on the government to support investment in recharging infrastructure.
ACT
The proportion of EVs in the ACT fleet is surprisingly low – especially one considers both the rhetoric of the government and the compact geography of the ACT. A cynic might come to the conclusion that the government has been more interested in rhetoric than the grind of finding applications where low emission vehicles can replace petrol and diesel vehicles. This may prove to be an overly harsh judgement if the announced purchase of 51 Nissan Leafs proceeds as planned. Not only will this boost ACT governments EV numbers, but these vehicles are slated to be part of an Australian first vehicle-to-grid power storage trial (2)
Government owned/leased Light Vehicle fleet: 680 vehicles
% PHEV/EV = 3.5%
Number of PHEV/EVs = 7/17
Note: the ACT government has announced a plan to purchase 50 Nissan Leaf EVs which would increase the % PHEV/EVs to about 10%.
Victoria/NSW
The Andrews government, despite being in power for almost 6 years, does not have an EV target for the state government fleet and indeed seems not to own or lease any EVs. While Victoria has some runs on the board supporting recharging infrastructure as well as state based EV manufacturing projects, NSW has been a more active, albeit recent, supporter of EV technology. In 2019, 23.9% of new vehicles added to the NSW light vehicle fleet were EVs, far exceeding the 10% target set at the start of the year (3). This target has now been increased to 30% EVs by 2023.
Government owned/leased Light Vehicle fleet: ~3,000 new vehicles/year
% PHEV/EV = 23.9% of 2019 new vehicle procurement
Number of PHEV/EVs = 692
Target: 30% of annual procurement by 2023
The aim for this discussion is not to sing the praises of the current NSW government or criticise any of the other state administrations. The point of the discussion is to highlight a potential shift in the political stalemate over climate policy – it may no longer be true that it is only labor states who are making tentative decarbonisation steps with liberal governments culturally opposed. It seems obvious to Journey to Zero Carbon that wealthy Sydneysiders, concerned about decarbonisation (and perhaps reflecting a desire to be seen on the right side of history), want to see action on climate and the Berejiklian Liberal government has had to respond. It is not surprising that EVs are part of this response – power generation and the future of coal looks increasingly like a losing argument and an astute alternative to an admission of error is to change the discussion. Support for EVs could become part of the new conversation.
Is the NSW Liberal government offering a pathway that recognises this transition and seeks to avoid a Warringah-esque voter backlash? Or do conservatives still feel that there is mileage in supporting the status quo and seeking support from rural and suburban voters who are anxious about losing the family sedan and the tradie ute. My bet is that savvy Liberals will follow the NSW lead, espouse an economically sound, pragmatic pro EV stance that is backed up with real action. This will give urban liberal voters something to celebrate and leave Labor and the Greens to fight over subsidies for Teslas and free parking.
