One of the main issues facing the world today is our reliance on fossil fuels in order to meet our energy needs. Alternate sources of energy are a must in order for us to continue our standards of living without jeopardizing the climate of our planet. Last year, “Almost 80% of consumed energy all over the world came from fossil fuels.” (Voloshin et al.) Of this proportion, roughly 58% was a result of petrol and diesel being used in motor vehicles. As a result of these statistics, it is imperative that Government policy is changed in regard to adoption of green/electric vehicles on Australian roads, in an effort to at least reduce the widespread use of Fossil Fuels.
Government subsidies on cars that incorporate technologies such as Biofuels, fully electric motors or hybrid engines would increase adoptions rates and help Australia reduce its reliance on fossil fuels.
In fact, one of the largest barriers to widespread adoption is the lack of Government support. Australia is actually ‘the only first world country not to offer a subsidy’ for electric vehicles. (Milne, 2016)
Compared to other countries in the world, Australia’s adoption rates are extremely low, likely due to a combination of low government support, lack of infrastructure and high prices. All three of these are major factors in consumer attitudes when they are looking to buy a new car. By changing policy the government has the power to affect all three of these factors, giving all consumers choice and piece of mind, allowing them to do their bit to help the environment.
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References:
Voloshin, R, Rodionova, M, Zharmukhamedov, S, Nejat, V & Allakhverdiev, S, 2016, ‘Biofuel production from plant and algal biomass’, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Vol.41(39), pp.17257-17273
Milne, D, 2016, ‘Electric Vehicles – A missed opportunity for Australia?, My Electric Car, https://myelectriccar.com.au/electric-vehicles-missed-opportunity-australia/.
http://ev-sales.blogspot.com.au/2016/05/australia-q1-2016.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_car_use_by_country
Graph created by Ervin Fazekas
realrenewables.wordpress.com 