Accelerating electric vehicle uptake: Modelling public policy options on prices and infrastructure

Transitioning to passenger battery electric vehicles (BEV) can mitigate climate change impacts of road transportation. We develop a novel BEV policy model, nesting it within a national-scale macroeconomic system dynamics model (iSDG-Australia) to simulate a suite of policy pathways. We model combinations of infrastructure support and subsidies, which bring forward the price-parity tipping point, thus rapidly accelerating BEVs’ share of new car sales. However, ongoing complementary charging infrastructure investment is critical to reach 100% new BEV car sales by 2050 in Australia. Even with a rapid transition, the modelled fleet would not achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 due to vehicle longevity; and suddenly ceasing financial incentives could retard BEV sales by a decade. Based on our assumptions, results suggest emissions reductions are maximised by the fastest transition of the passenger vehicle fleet to BEVs, entailing government policy support from 2020 to 2050, for both adequate infrastructure deployment (AUD17.9b) and vehicle rebates (AUD19.5b), which achieves earlier BEV price-parity with fossil-fuelled vehicles

Does not compute: Australia is still miles behind in recycling electronic products

Australia is lagging far behind other rich countries in dealing with the growing mountain of “e-waste” from discarded electrical and electronic products

Submission in regard to the Environmental and Social Standards of the Land Degradation Neutrality Fund

Thank you for the opportunity to make a submission about the Environmental and Social Standards (E&S Standards) of the Land Degradation Neutrality Fund (LDN Fund). From our personal perspectives, the current conceptualisation of the LDN Fund does not adequately indicate what kinds of projects will be pursued and who will benefit from them (as well as who will not benefit from them). These considerations could have serious consequences for local land managers and the environment. Particular concerns are expressed below

CHANGING PERSPECTIVES OF DRYLANDS: FAR WEST NSW RESPONSES TO LAND DEGRADATION AND SUSTAINABLE LAND MANAGEMENT

This article reports on a far west NSW case study which is part of the research project: “Who cares about land degradation neutrality? Exploring the riftbetween global discourses and local perspectives in far west New South Wales

Electric vehicle uptake: Understanding the print media’s role in changing attitudes and perceptions

Passenger motor vehicle transport is a significant and growing emissions source contribut-ing to climate change. Switching from internal combustion engines to electric vehicles (EV) would significantly reduce most countries’ emissions, but for many consumers perceived barriers deter EV adoption. Consequently, government policies designed to incentivise a transition to EVs could benefit from consideration of the utility of communication channels such as print media for influencing consumer behaviour. This research explores the role that media and other communication channels writing about EVs play in consumer perceptions and awareness of government-initiated programs and policies to incentivise EV market transition. Using mixed methods of a media review and New Zealand car buyer surveys (questionnaires, interviews) (n = 893), we identified car buyers’ media use to update knowledge about cars, perceptions about EVs, and likelihood to buy, and tested awareness and popularity of incentives. We derive recommendations for policy improvements to accelerate EV uptake, including a significant role for the print media to disseminate relevant information, increase awareness of policies, and shift perceptions about EVs. We argue that social marketing programs should be enhanced to overcome lack of knowledge and misinformation, focusing on the market segment next most likely to buy EVs

Increasing electric vehicle uptake by updating public policies to shift attitudes and perceptions: Case study of New Zealand

Actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions are required from all actors. Adopting plug-in electric vehicles (EV) would reduce light motor vehicle travel emissions, a significant and rising emissions source. To encourage EV uptake, many governments have implemented policies which may be less effective than desired. Using New Zealand as a case study, we surveyed private motorists. The results show that consumers are heterogeneous, with varying car-buying motivations, perceptions, attitudes to EVs and awareness of policies. Uniquely, we segmented motorists into four attitudinal groups to ascertain characteristics potentially affecting EV readiness to provide evidence to improve policies and aid social marketing. Our results show the next-most-ready to buy EVs are early mainstream consumers—designated the EV Positives—who were most concerned about vehicle range, perceptions of EV expense, charging-related inconvenience and the unknown value proposition of batteries, and were relatively unaware of incentives compared to EV Owners. The EV Positives favored incentives designed to effect purchase price reductions and increase nation-wide fast-charger deployment. To increase awareness of EVs and shift perceptions of EV expense and inconvenience, we suggest policies that potentially increase EV adoption rates and suggest reframing the language to appeal to EV Positives through information programs. Increasing EV procurement by organizations could increase opportunities for positive information dissemination via employees

Supporting Mangrove Monitoring in Australia: A Role for TERN/AusCover.

Over the past few years, significant changes in mangroves have occurred across large areas of Australia, with these including extensive mangrove dieback (along much of the northern coastline) and cyclone damage (e.g., on the east coast). Such changes need to be detected as and when they occur and the recovery from such events monitored over extended periods. This paper therefore focuses on the formulation, development and implementation of a monitoring system, with key elements being routine detection of mangrove change (e.g., extent, health, species) using dense time-series of optical satellite data available within the Australian Geoscience Data Cube (AGDC) and C- and L-band SAR observations (in conjunction with global forest and mangrove monitoring systems), the collation of all publicly available field, drone and aircraft observations through TERN/AusCover and the collection of new datasets under common protocols, and the planning and facilitation of airborne and satellite missions to generate key high resolution baseline datasets against which to quantify change. For effective delivery and operation, whole of community involvement is essential through avenues such as the AMSN and the Australian Earth Observation Community Coordination Group (AEOCCG). All datasets and products also need to be made publically available to inform policy and enable coordinated scientific research