Electric light commercial transport delivers truckloads of sustainable benefits

Host of the Gold Coast's Changing Climates series, Dr Christa Pudmenzky, explores how electric commercial vehicles can help us tackle climate change.

Experts observe that Australia's climate is warming.

In their annual State of the Climate 2022 report, the Bureau of Meteorology found every decade since 1950 has been warmer than preceding decades.

Excessive greenhouse gas emissions are fueling rising temperatures across the country.

In fact, carbon dioxide levels have increased every decade since the 1980s.

And as the 14th highest emitter in the world, we have a long road ahead to reduce our output and help stabilise the climate.

To achieve this, many industries will need to chip in, from energy to manufacturing and agriculture.

Here, we're going to take a deeper look at the transport sector, specifically light commercial vehicles (LCVs).

LCVs are those that specialise in carrying goods or equipment, most commonly in the form of a van, small-sized truck or utility vehicle.

They transport everything from the food that stocks supermarket shelves, to your latest online retail purchase.

LCVs travel a whopping 52 million km every year in Australia, shifting almost 9000 million tonne-kms of goods.

And with all that driving up and down the country, these mighty machines are racking up quite an emissions tab.

Electrification driving down emissions

Electric vehicles produce no exhaust emissions and have the potential to be charged using renewable energy sources like wind and solar.

While use of electric LCVs is starting to rise in Australia, uptake has been significantly slower than other regions like Europe.

However, projections show battery electric and plug-in hybrid models will make up 30 per cent of new LCV and passenger sales by 2030 – that's a potential 1.7 million more carbon-friendly vehicles on our roads.

Electric LCV benefits

Whether we shop in person or online, we often don't see the emissions generated as items travel to their final destination.

Every day, LCVs hit the road en masse, serving as couriers, connecting suppliers, manufacturers, and distributers.

Electrification of these vehicles therefore plays an essential role in cutting emissions across all stages of production.

Beyond reducing emissions, electric LCVs offer a range of other benefits.

Studies show that from an annual mileage of 16,000km and above, electric LCVS are cheaper to own than their diesel and petrol counterparts.

In fact, electric LCVs have the potential to deliver net cost savings after four to five years, with smaller models often breaking even by the second year due to lower operating and energy costs.

The benefits of lowered costs for businesses could trickle down to consumers – a welcome outcome given the recent spike in the cost of living.

Reducing air pollution is another major benefit we gain by electrifying our LCV fleet.

With no tailpipe, they do not produce toxic grey smoke filled with hazardous emissions that reduce our visibility and adversely affect our health.

This significantly lowers the likelihood of related illnesses including respiratory disease and cancer.

Ultimately, the evidence is clear – from the environment to the economy to health, electric LCVs offer truckloads of benefits.

The electrification of these vehicles over the next decade will be key as we race towards Australia's target to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.

Want more information on how your climate is changing? Check out the last article in this series.

Dr Christa Pudmenzky is a climate scientist at the University of Southern Queensland.

This column is part of a collaboration between Monash University and News Corp to deliver hyperlocal weather and climate information.