‘It’s not radical’: Push to ban old polluting trucks from capital cities

Highly polluting diesel trucks older than 20 years would be banned from Sydney and Melbourne within several years under a proposal by an independent think-tank to slash toxic emissions and spur the uptake of electric vehicles.

The Grattan Institute, in a report released late Sunday, warns that exhaust-pipe pollutants from trucks kill more than 400 Australians annually and contribute to diseases including lung cancer, strokes and asthma.

About a fifth of the trucks and buses in Sydney and Melbourne are more than 20 years old.Credit:Nick Moir

In a move that would emulate cities overseas, the think-tank has called for “low-emission-zones” to be set up in Sydney and Melbourne within the next three years, from which diesel trucks more than two decades old would be banned.

It cited data showing that about 20 per cent of the heavy vehicle fleet in both cities comprises highly polluting trucks and buses manufactured before 2003.

Grattan Institute transport and cities program director Marion Terrill said the country needed to act faster to limit the harm that trucks cause to people’s health and the environment.

“People think low-emission zones are a big deal, but it is really a very well accepted policy overseas, and it shouldn’t be seen as radical,” she said.

The Grattan Institute recommends offering financial support to help the owners of old trucks switch to cleaner vehicles.Credit:Peter Braig

European cities have more than 250 low-emissions zones that ban highly polluting trucks, including London, Barcelona and Madrid. In Asia, they have been introduced in Tokyo and Beijing.

The NSW government sidestepped questions about whether it would consider banning old trucks from Sydney, instead highlighting its commitment to net-zero emissions by 2050 and work on electric vehicle charging infrastructure and a hydrogen refuelling network.

The Grattan report shows that 14 per cent of the country’s truck fleet was built before 1996, and emits 60 times the particulate matter of a new heavy vehicle, and eight times the poisonous nitrogen oxides. It recommends offering financial support to help the owners of old trucks switch to cleaner trucks.

NSW Greens transport spokeswoman Abigail Boyd said the large number of pre-2003 diesel trucks on the road meant there may be no choice but to ban them.

“But any ban must come with a support package for those individual truck owners who would otherwise suffer hardship,” she said. “This isn’t about harming the trucking industry, it’s about providing guidance for future investment decisions.”

In a sign of the challenge, Transport Minister David Elliott told a budget estimates hearing on Friday that there was “no way in the world” the government would meet an aspirational target set by his predecessor Andrew Constance to electrify the state’s fleet of 8000 buses by 2030.

At present, the state has about 100 electric buses, and a further 200 are due next year.

NSW Labor roads spokesman John Graham said that if his party wins government he wants to encourage new jobs in businesses which convert large trucks to electric vehicles.

“We know that old diesel trucks have a huge impact on our state’s air quality. This is an issue we can’t avoid,” he said.

He did not comment on whether pre-2003 trucks should be banned from Sydney.

The Grattan report also warns Australia’s pollution standards for trucks are a decade behind major global markets, and that the country needs to catch up to the international pollution standard from 2024.

Under the so-called “Euro” standards, a move from Euro-V to Euro-VI requires trucks to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions by 80 per cent, and to halve particulate matter. Canada and the US tightened their pollution standards to Euro-VI in 2010, Japan in 2011, and the UK and Europe in 2014.

However, Australia is one of only six G20 countries that has not adopted, or committed to, Euro-VI pollution standards. The federal government has been considering whether to introduce Euro-VI standards in 2027.

The Australian Trucking Association, an industry body, said it believed the federal government should mandate Euro VI standards for new truck models from early 2024 and for new trucks generally the following year.

NSW Regional Roads Minister Sam Farraway said emission standards were determined federally and would need a national approach to ensure vehicles registered around Australia met legislative considerations.

A Victorian government spokesperson said it had cut truck trips by 28,000 each year from the state’s roads under an incentive program to move more freight onto rail and reduce road damage, road incidents and heavy vehicle emissions.

The Grattan Institute also urged the federal government to impose binding sales targets for zero-emissions trucks, starting at 2 per cent in 2024 and progressively increasing to cover most new sales by 2040. It argued this would help Australia meet its target of net-zero emissions by 2050.

Federal Infrastructure and Transport Minister Catherine King was approached for comment.

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