Our plan to keep cutting climate pollution this decade: How we’ll get around

The Climate Council has a plan that spells out how we can electrify the nation and cut climate pollution by 75% this decade. The plan shows how we can build on the momentum we’ve already created to ensure Australia has a clean economy powered by the sun and wind, set up our communities and kids for success, and get on a path to end climate pollution. 

Under our plan, more of us will use shared, active and electrified ways of getting around and transporting goods, more often.

We move people and freight in lots of ways, including by road, rail, ship and plane. Unfortunately, whenever we burn fossil fuels (like petrol and diesel) to power cars, trucks, trains, planes or ships, we’re adding to climate pollution. Moving by shared, active and electric transport is a cleaner, healthier way of travelling from A to B. 

Where are we at? 

• Passenger transport is dominated by cars in Australia, with public transport only accounting for around 7% of total passenger travel, and rolling, walking or bike riding less than 4%.
• Polluting cars dominate most personal travel, with uptake of electric vehicles held back by a lack of fuel efficiency standards. 
• Electric vehicles have become popular in Australia, with new electric vehicle sales jumping to almost 9% of new vehicles in 2023 – more than double the rate of growth compared to the previous year. Despite this, Australia lags behind comparable countries because we have been slow to introduce standards that encourage manufacturers to sell more low- and zero-emission vehicles.
• Road transport is also a significant source of air pollutants, including nitrogen oxides and particulate matter. These air pollutants are associated with numerous adverse health effects, primarily respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, and are linked to more than 11,000 premature deaths in Australia each year.

By shifting to shared, active and electrified transport, we can halve climate pollution in our transport sector, from 102 Mt CO₂e in 2024 to 45.3 Mt CO₂e in 2030.

What else can we do?

We can halve transport pollution by providing better travel options to people who live in our biggest cities, and by moving goods in ways that pollute less so we can all breathe easier.

Boost shared and active travel: 

• Shift existing kilometres travelled by private car to shared and active transport at a rate of about 5% a year and create healthier communities in the process

• States and territory government can support significant improvements to our transport options by:
  • Providing fast, frequent and reliable shared transport services, by ensuring shared transport services operate at least every 15 minutes within 800 metres of every home from 7am to 7pm across Australia’s eight capital cities. 
  • This starts with delivering better bus services by 2030. In the longer term, light and commuter rail will also need to play a significant role so planning for new projects needs to start this decade.
  • Planning and designing with accessibility, inclusivity and the diversity of Australians in mind, such as meeting the Disability Standards for Accessible Public Transport.

Go electric: 

Electrify our passenger fleet so one-third of all passenger kilometres are travelled by electric vehicles by 2030, by prioritising the electrification of vehicles that travel the most, like taxis, rideshare vehicles and government fleets.

Shift the way we move freight: 

• We can cut climate pollution from the movement of goods across Australia by:
  • Shifting one-third of road freight to rail by 2030, by increasing the use of rail for packaged freight.
  • Electrifying more heavy road vehicles. 
  • Prioritising air freight for genuinely time-sensitive transport needs to keep existing use constant as our economy continues to grow, with more use of rail for interstate transport of consumer goods and other freight.

Find out more about each section of our plan:

How we’ll power ourselves 

How we’ll make things

How we’ll build things

How we’ll care for our land

Help turn this plan into action!

Our plan shows how we can cut climate pollution three times faster than current government plans each year to 2030.

Your donation will fund our climate science, advocacy, policy, media and communications experts to:

• influence decision makers to put these achievable recommendations into practice.
• get persuasive messages out, building public support for climate action at the speed and scale we need now. 

There’s no time to waste. Our kids are depending on us.