A top professor has called on Australia to lower speed limits for SUVs and other high-emission vehicles on the highway to combat climate change.
Australia’s love of crew cabs, large SUVs and older vehicles has made the country one of the world’s top petrol consumers, according to a new report from The Australia Institute.
Professor Lennard Gillman from Auckland University of Technology said driving a little slower is one way to dramatically reduce fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions.
He believes Australia should introduce differential speed limits for high and low emitting vehicles so that cars that create more pollution are forced to slow down to reduce their impact on the environment.
“Lowering the speed limit on high-emission vehicles has the double effect of reducing emissions, but it also encourages people to buy low-emission cars,” he told Daily Mail Australia.
‘In a vehicle like the Ford Ranger V6 you use 260 g (fuel) per kilometer. That’s more than twice as much as a Toyota Corolla.”
He believes Australia should introduce differential speed limits for high and low emitting vehicles so that cars that create more pollution are forced to slow down to reduce their impact on the environment.
“Lowering the speed limit on high-emission vehicles has the double effect of reducing emissions, but it also encourages people to buy low-emission cars,” he told Daily Mail Australia.
‘In a vehicle like the Ford Ranger V6 you use 260 g (fuel) per kilometer. That’s more than twice as much as a Toyota Corolla.”
Professor Lennard Gillman recommended that Australia enforce a lower speed limit on high emitting cars to help reduce carbon dioxide emissions and fuel consumption (pictured, Sydney traffic)
A study by the New Zealand Transport Agency in 2017 found that reducing the speed from 100 km/h to 80 km/h causes cars to use 15 percent less fuel.
Prof Gillman believes that the disadvantages of reducing speed limits by 10 km/h, such as the extra time it takes to travel, outweigh the benefits.
“It’s safer, more relaxing and makes time difference,” he said.
“If it makes a huge difference in carbon emissions, destroying the planet we live on, we can certainly make that sacrifice.”
Prof Gillman said money-based climate change initiatives – such as raising taxes on fuel in the hope that people will buy new electric cars – often have little effect on high-income households, while low-income households suffer.
“The problem with fuel taxes is that it will punish low-income people,” he said.
“People who spend more than $100,000 on a high-emissions vehicle don’t care about gas taxes.
“They won’t notice the increased cost of running their vehicle.
“Reducing the speed limit for people with a high-emission vehicle will be a much better incentive to buy a more fuel-efficient vehicle.”
Prof Gillman (above) said driving high-emission vehicles at 90km/h instead of 100km/h could reduce emissions by 23 per cent
Prof Gillman recommended lowering the speed limit for high emitting vehicles by 10km/h (pictured, speed limit sign)
An analysis by The Australia Institute found that a significant portion of transport emissions were fueled by ‘ill-targeted tax incentives encouraging Australians to drive large, inefficient dual-cab utes’.
The report found that Australia’s transport emissions had increased by 17 percent since 2000, while countries such as the US, UK and Japan had reduced their emissions.
“Australia could cut emissions significantly simply by running more fuel-efficient vehicles and saving billions of dollars in fuel costs,” said Matt Grudnoff, Senior Economist at the Australia Institute.
Five of Australia’s top 10 best-selling vehicles were dual-cab utes, the report found, while three were SUVs and only two were small passenger cars.
The report also recommended changes to emissions testing of vehicles to meet international standards, a commitment to switch all government fleets to electric vehicles by 2030, and the introduction of a fuel efficiency standard.
Prof Gillman warned that not taking small steps to reduce emissions could have disastrous consequences in the future.
Five of the top 10 best-selling vehicles in Australia are dual-cab utes (as above) and three of the top 10 were SUVs
“Most of the backlash comes from people who have these high-emission vehicles and who feel it’s their right to do what they want,” he said.
“We are facing a climate crisis. We are on track to get 2C warmer and many scientists believe that once it gets to 2C it will transition to 5C or 6C.
“At that point, much of the Earth will be completely unlivable and millions of people will die.
“We’re already seeing the effects of climate change causing fatalities with these massive storms that we’ve seen around the world.”