The role of electric vehicles in decarbonising Australia’s road transport sector: modelling ambitious scenarios

Abstract

Transitioning to net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050 is becoming increasingly urgent, requiring accelerated efforts to decarbonise all economic sectors, including transport, a growing emissions source. A transition to battery electric vehicles (BEV) would accelerate the decarbonisation of road transport and provide other benefits. But in Australia, BEV uptake has been negligible, and the scale and pace required to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 has not been addressed to date.This study applies a national-scale integrated macroeconomic model (iSDG-Australia) to project Australia’s future road transport demand, vehicle mix, energy consumption and GHG emissions by 2050. It models five scenarios incorporating different levels of economic and population growth, vehicle longevity, ambitions for BEV uptake, fleet renewal, forced phase-out of fossil-fuelled vehicles and shifts to renewable electricity. Scenario projections are benchmarked on their zero-emission vehicle mix, fuel and electricity consumption, GHG emissions, and broader social and economic impacts. We conclude the scale and pace of change must be transformational rather than transitional, requiring urgent policy action. An ambitious and rapid transition to 100% BEVs in new vehicle sales, accelerated fleet renewal, and a shift to renewable electricity generation could achieve a net-zero outcome for Australia’s road transport sector by 2050.