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Australia is falling far behind other countries in improving car pollution. , CSIRO/Wikimedia commons, CC BY-SA

Last year, Australia’s new cars were just 1.1% less polluting than the year before, according to a report released this week by the National Transport Commission.

This is the smallest improvement on record, and largely due to our growing preference for SUVs and utes. In addition, some locally manufactured cars actually became less efficient.

But the backdrop of this poor performance is Australia’s astonishing lack of mandatory vehicle efficiency standards (adopted by 80% of the world), which allows foreign manufacturers to offload their least efficient cars in Australia.

In the absence of strong regulation, vehicle emission reduction has plateaued. ‘Improving the efficiency of new light vehicles’, Commonwealth of Australia 2016, CC BY

These findings vindicate a 2016 report from the Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics, which advised that in the absence of policy changes, the rate of emissions improvement could return to around 1%. The report also warned that Australia would be increasingly left behind by other countries.

Both predictions have come true. The NTC report shows the average emissions intensity for new passenger vehicles sold in Australian was 46% higher than their European Union counterparts.

This gap jumps to 80% for locally manufactured cars. Our local vehicle efficiency has not improved since 2012 and actually went backwards between 2015 and 2016. The difference is largely attributable to a 5.8% increase in Holden’s average emission intensity in 2016.

We’re buying more polluting cars

The NTC report found that consumer preferences play a large role in the slowing rate of vehicle efficiency improvements. Australians bought more SUVs and utes, but far fewer “green cars” (vehicles that emit less than 120g of carbon dioxide per kilometre).

Green car sales have fallen dramatically. Carbon Dioxide Emissions Intensity for New Australian Light Vehicles 2016, National Transport Australia

The proportion of green cars sold in 2016 fell to 2.5% of total car sales, from 4.7% in 2015. Lower consumer demand has reduced the number of green car models available, from 72 green car models in 2015 to 51 green car models in 2016.

Finally, total sales of electric vehicles dropped 80% in 2016 (219 sales) compared to 2015 (1,108 sales)

Strong government action

The cheapest way for Australia to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions is to introduce mandatory fuel efficiency standards. Without them, global manufacturers have no incentive to offer more efficient models, and a 2016 government report into fuel efficiency found that:

The best-performing variants sold in Australia were about 27% worse on average than the most efficient model variants offered in the UK.

The same report investigated the costs and benefits of three different options for efficiency regulations, which could be phased in between 2020 and 2025.

The cost and benefits of three proposed emissions targets for new light vehicles. ‘Improving the efficiency of new light vehicles’, Commonwealth of Australia 2016, CC BY Target A, the most strict fuel efficiency option being considered by the government, would deliver 6% of Australia’s 2030 emission reduction target. ‘Improving the efficiency of new light vehicles’, Commonwealth of Australia 2016

All three options provide a net financial benefit, with the most stringent regulation saving the most money (primarily though reducing the cost of fuel, but also by helping stay within our carbon budget).

Adopting target A, which proposes all new cars release a maximum of 105g of CO₂ per kilometre by 2025, will prompt car manufacturers to import the most efficient vehicles available. The price increase in cars would be recouped by dramatically lower fuel costs, as shown in the table below.

It will also deliver 6% of Australia’s 2030 emissions-reduction target.

At a retail fuel price of $1.30 per litre, an average motorist (as defined by the 2014 census) could recoup additional purchase costs for an average performing passenger vehicle within four years. ‘Improving the efficiency of new light vehicles’, Commonwealth of Australia 2016, CC BY

However the dire state of Australia’s road emissions makes a strong case for introducing new efficiency standards before 2020. Light vehicles currently account for 10% of Australia’s annual greenhouse gas emissions, about 57 million tonnes.

On the other hand, the NTC report found that if all new vehicles bought in 2016 in Australia had been the most efficient in their class, emissions would have been reduced by 59%.

Until we have firm fuel efficiency standards that create a consumer incentive towards low-emission vehicles and prevent global manufacturers from offloading highly polluting models in Australia, we’ll fail to make real progress in reducing road emissions.

Anna Mortimore does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond the academic appointment above.

Nicaragua wants a tougher deal, writes Helen Yuill; and Dorothy Starr wants her president’s state visit to the UK called off

We welcome your excellent coverage of President Trump’s decision to pull out of the Paris climate agreement (Anger at US as Trump rejects climate accord, 2 June). However, there are references to the US joining Syria and Nicaragua in rejecting the agreement. Presented out of context, this comparison is flawed. Syria didn’t sign because of the catastrophic civil war. Nicaragua refused to sign because it believes the agreement is too weak to address the enormity of the consequences of climate change, particularly in vulnerable developing countries.

Paul Oquist, Nicaraguan representative to the Paris talks, pointed out that the Paris carbon reduction targets are non-binding and even if fully met would lead to a catastrophic three-degree temperature rise. Oquist also highlighted the lack of political will and ambition on the part of the largest polluters, their failure to accept historical responsibility for global warming, and the lack of financial resources for technological transfer, adaptation, and compensation for losses and damages. He went on to say: “The Paris Agreement will not solve global warming problems but merely postpone them.”

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Guarani-Kaiowá leader Ladio Veron is seeking international support to end violence against indigenous people and environmental destruction under the Temer administration, reports Mongabay

Ladio Veron, leader of Brazil’s indigenous Guarani-Kaiowá people, is touring Europe and making a desperate international appeal to halt attacks and killings, land theft and environmental destruction that his people say have become a hallmark of Brazil’s Temer administration.

The Guarani-Kaiowá is fighting for recognition of their indigenous land rights in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul in southwest Brazil, bordering Paraguay. After decades of violent territorial disputes with cattle ranchers, soy and sugar cane farmers, Veron hopes to galvanize support and build an international network of allies that will put pressure on Temer and the agribusiness lobby-dominated National Congress back home.

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Researchers show that it might be possible to develop an alternative to antibiotics for treating diseases in pigs and humans

The biological trick that allows a female mandarin duck to become a male.

Local and international efforts might be enough to limit the damage Trump’s scorched Earth approach

I was elected to represent the citizens of Pittsburgh, not Paris

So said Donald Trump in a speech justifying his irrational, historically irresponsible decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris international climate treaty. Of course, 75% of Pittsburgh residents voted for Hillary Clinton, and many city residents have since written about the outdatedness and absurdity of Trump’s invocation of Pittsburgh, which aims to be 100% powered by renewable energy by 2035. In fact, Pittsburgh joined 210 other “climate cities” representing 54 million Americans (17% of the national population), pledging:

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Rich Thomson was surfing off Bantham beach in south Devon when a metre-long shark bit his hand

It won’t go down as a great tale of derring-do on the high seas and it is very unlikely that a film or book deal will follow. But a teacher from Devon has a salty story to tell after an episode in which a “small shark” drew blood while he was surfing in south-west England.

Rich Thomson, 30, a chemistry teacher at Kingsbridge community college, was off Bantham beach in south Devon when he said he felt something grab him by the leg.

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Does it really matter that the US President has announced that they will be pulling out of the Paris climate accord? Ross McKitrick discusses the options.

Neil deGrasse Tyson challenges the treatment of science in the Trump administration

The National Grid says alternative fuel generated more electricity than coal and gas in the UK on Wednesday.

After a decade of political stalemate, the Australian Industry Group says a bipartisan approach to energy policy is now essential.

Leaked details of the Chief Scientist's report into the national energy market show it recommends a clean energy target, as well as more gas and storage in the system.

The Department has published the National Waste Report 2016. Prepared by Blue Environment, the Report provides information on waste generation, recovery and fate for the different waste streams and material categories, by jurisdiction and per...

The Department has published the National Waste Report 2016. Prepared by Blue Environment, the Report provides information on waste generation, recovery and fate for the different waste streams and material categories, by jurisdiction and per...

The Department has published the National Waste Report 2016. Prepared by Blue Environment, the Report provides information on waste generation, recovery and fate for the different waste streams and material categories, by jurisdiction and per...

Large-scale installations across Aarhus city depict nature, and man’s relationship with it, in three categories: the past, present and future – from a structure highlighting bee decline to a reflection on light pollution

• ARoS Art Museum’s triennial The Garden – End of Times, Beginning of Times runs until 30 July; The Past section runs until 10 Sept

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EINSTEIN'S IMPOSSIBLE HOPE: Astronomers have used the gravitational warping of light, predicted by Einstein nearly a century ago, to measure the mass of a distant star for the first time.

Plastic bags are an infamous problem in Nairobi. They clog its waterways and litter its streets. The Kenyan government is attempting to ban their use from August – with implications for businesses from supermarkets to recyclers.

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Genex Power has mandated Grant Samuel as its financial adviser for the 270MW Kidston Solar Phase II project.

With the release of his review, Dr Finkel is expected to advocate a “low emissions target” . But what is a LET, and why is it better than an EIS?