Aussie fleet CO2 emissions still falling

But unique environmental factors in Australia place us a long way behind Europe

Road transport in Australia emitted 22 per cent lower levels of carbon dioxide last year than it did 10 years earlier. Yet our average CO2 emissions figure in 2012 was close to 40g/km higher than even the worst performing European nation that year.

This fact has been reported by the National Transport Commission (NTC) in its latest information paper, 'Carbon Dioxide Emissions from New Australian Vehicles 2013', released over the weekend. The paper was pulled together with information from various sources including the FCAI (Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries – the peak body representing car manufacturers and importers in Australia).

Not only has Australia's motor vehicle parc – based on 8.5 million vehicles sold since 2005 – witnessed a consistent decline in CO2 emissions every year since records began, the percentage improvement has tended to accelerate during the years since the GFC.

"On average, new motor vehicles in Australia have recorded 2.4 per cent year-on-year CO2 reductions over the last decade with an overall reduction of more than 22 per cent. This is significantly greater than the reductions seen in most other sectors of the economy," said FCAI Chief Executive Tony Weber, as quoted in a press release.

But the achievement of the local automotive industry during the 12 years since the NTC began compiling CO2 stats pales in comparison with the industry in the UK.

"When you look at new car sales in Australia, it is apparent that Australian consumers have a greater preference for heavier vehicles with larger and more powerful engines, than consumers in the United Kingdom. Australian consumers also have a preference for a lower proportion of diesel powered engines and a higher proportion of automatic transmissions, all of which contribute to higher emissions," Weber said.

In 2012 the UK's average CO2 emissions figure was just 132g/km. For other parts of Europe the average figure was even lower. All the European nations mentioned in the NTC report had achieved significantly better results in 2012 than Australia did. Even Estonia scored 155g/km. Denmark, at the other end of the scale, finished the year on 117g/km.

Data compiled for the paper included fuel consumption figures in accordance with ADR81/02, and VFACTS sales information broken down by vehicle type. Fuel consumption and CO2 emissions can be directly correlated, with 10L/100km equalling 228g/km (petrol) or 267g/km (diesel) and 20L/100km equivalent to 456g/km (petrol) and 534g/km (diesel). Higher CO2 emissions for diesel engines reflect the heavier carbon content of the fuel burned in compression-ignition engines. This tends to be offset by the lower consumption figure that often applies to diesels.

CO2 emissions by buyer type during 2013 tended to mirror government's legislated requirement to buy Australian cars (210g/km), private buyers' reluctance to buy Australian (186g/km) and business falling somewhere in between (198g/km).

Data courtesy National Transport Commission

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Written byCarsales Staff

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