- by Peter Farmer
- The Guardian
- Issue #2178
Photo: M Santos
Rewiring Australia, an organisation dedicated to promoting electrification as a way of reducing Australia’s carbon emissions has warned that new discounted loans for electrical vehicle (EV) purchases don’t go far enough and risk leaving low-income households and pensioners behind as more prosperous households switch from internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles to EVs.
The federal government has announced $60 million in discounted EV loans through its Clean Energy Finance Corporation, aimed at reducing upfront costs for popular EV models and accelerating the shift away from petrol-powered transport.
Discounted loans for electric vehicles (EVs) will help Australians ditch petrol cars sooner, but Rewiring Australia says the government must go further if low-income households and pensioners are to share in the savings from lower power bills.
The federal government has announced $60 million in discounted EV loans through its Clean Energy Finance Corporation, aimed at reducing upfront costs for popular EV models and accelerating the shift away from petrol-powered transport.
Rewiring Australia has welcomed the move as good news for Australians in the market for a new car, but says money could still be better spent investing in policies which benefit everyone.
“These discounts are about helping Australians switch to cars that are cheaper to run, better to drive, powered by Australian-made energy, and ultimately better for planet Earth,” Rewiring Australia CEO Francis Vierboom said.
“Every new petrol car sold today is effectively a 20-year subscription to imported fossil fuels, locking households into higher costs for decades.
“Transport is on track to become Australia’s biggest source of carbon pollution and the solution is a relatively straightforward one in that we just need to make EVs the more favourable option to consumers, which this announcement helps do.
“But we still need to do more for lower-income homes. These kinds of loans work well for upper-middle income folks who can easily make regular repayments but leave behind Australians who need help the most.”
Vierboom said without affordable finance to upgrade to fully electric, energy-efficient homes, most Australians will continue to miss out on the full savings of the clean energy transition.“If the government is serious about climate targets and household budgets, it needs to move beyond conventional loan models and invest in solutions that can be accessed by homes under the most pressure.”
Another thing the government could do to drastically reduce emissions from transport is to make a massive investment in free or very cheap public transport, but that doesn’t seem to be on the Labor government’s radar.
