Richie Merzian
Australia faces significant risks to national security, energy security and climate change mitigation – but that will change as electric vehicle uptake increases.
That’s according to new research from the Australia Institute which finds the country unprepared to deal with any potential fuel security crisis due to a heavy reliance on imported oil and access to only a limited amount of fuel at any one time.
Key findings include 90% of the fuel consumed in Australia coming from oil sourced overseas, that the country had on average access to 20 days’ worth of fuel in the 2018 financial year, and that emergency powers to ration fuel stocks would take up to three weeks to implement.
“This means that by the time the rationing powers come into force, there may not be any fuel left to ration,” Australia Institute climate & energy program director Richie Merzian says.
”Given Australia is clearly not equipped to deal with a liquid fuel security crisis, we strongly support a review of the Liquid Fuel Emergency Act.”
The study also notes Australia’s oil production has already peaked and is likely to continue to decline.
“Addressing Australia’s fuel security risks requires a reduction in oil use. This involves increasing fuel efficiency and transitioning to non-oil energy sources through electric vehicle targets and fuel efficiency standards,” Merzian says.
“Australia is an international laggard when it comes to fuel efficiency. Weak fuel standards and an absence of a national electric vehicle policy leave Australia among the least fuel-efficient fleets in the OECD, and far behind the rest of the world in electric vehicle uptake.”
