Page 911 - Week 03 - Thursday, 7 April 2022
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Unfortunately, in Australia we have no emission standards whatsoever for carbon dioxide and we have emission standards in place for particulate matter and noxious emissions that are outdated. We have Euro 5 emission standards. The rest of the world is way ahead of us. Not only does Europe have the Euro 6 in place but they have just committed to Euro 7—higher standards for new vehicles to make sure that they can improve air quality.
The commonwealth government has, to date, refused, unfortunately, to implement those higher emission standards. This is something that we have recently written to the commonwealth about, as part of our review into road safety, because, while we acknowledge that many people are affected by motor accident injuries on our roads, thousands of people are actually affected by the emissions that come from transport on our roads. Those are deaths and injuries that are not included in the road toll.
The commonwealth government has been consulting on a draft regulation impact statement on the introduction of Euro 6 standards, which itself acknowledges the significant impact of noxious emissions on public health. We know that living close to major roads and highways increases the risk of dying early and has been linked to higher incidents of dementia in the elderly. Higher levels of benzene, a known carcinogen, have been discovered near major roads, particularly when traffic is congested.
The two main air pollutants of greatest concern to health experts are fine particles, commonly referred to as PM2.5, and ground-level ozone. Noxious emissions produced by road vehicles are a significant contributor to both, particularly in major cities. Scientific evidence links long-term exposure to PM2.5 with ischemic heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lower respiratory infections—in particular, pneumonia.
There is also mounting evidence that PM2.5 exposure can contribute to the incidence of type 2 diabetes. A study into the public risk of exposure to air pollutants from 2013 found that long-term population exposure to PM2.5 alone was attributable to 9 per cent of all deaths from ischemic heart disease in Australia’s four largest cities. This has a significant impact on public health and it is why I am really pleased that this World Health Day 2022 is acknowledging Our Planet, Our Health.
The two are linked significantly. Our response to climate change, and particularly transport emissions, is directly linked to the health of our community here in Canberra. We want to live in a community that has clean air. Unfortunately, we do not have a federal government that is willing to put in place the necessary health regulations, the necessary transport regulations, to ensure that this occurs.
We know that Euro 6 is not just about reducing the amount of PM2.5 and other noxious emissions from ICE, internal combustion engine, vehicles. It is about ensuring that we also support the take-up of zero emissions vehicles, which do not pump out any CO2 from the tailpipe together with all of those other noxious emissions. This is something that we have to tackle and the commonwealth government has to tackle, in the term following the next election.
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