This article was originally published on The Conversation, and authored by Jake Whitehead, Dia Adhikari Smith, and Thara Philip.
The Morrison government on Friday released a plan to reduce carbon emissions from Australia’s road transport sector.
Controversially, it ruled out consumer incentives to encourage electric vehicle uptake. The disappointing document is not the electric vehicle jump-start the country sorely needs.
In contrast, the United States has recently gone all-in on electric vehicles.
Like leaders in many developed economies, President Joe Biden will offer consumer incentives to encourage uptake of the technology.
The nation’s entire government vehicle fleet will also transition to electric vehicles made in the US. Electric vehicles are crucial to delivering the substantial emissions reductions required to reach net-zero by 2050 – a goal Prime Minister Scott Morrison now says he supports.
It begs the question: when will Australian governments wake up and support the electric vehicle revolution?
