Many Australians try to reduce their personal carbon footprint, but do we have the same options as people in other countries? Opposition climate change and energy spokesman Mark Butler told reporters that Australia was one of the few countries wihtout mandatory emission standards. A Toyota Corolla bought in the UK was half as polluting as a Toyota Corolla bought in Australia because of a lack of regulations, he said. RMIT ABC Fact Check found Mr Butler's claim is ill-informed. Although Australia has placed limits on emissions of "noxious air pollutants" since the 1970s, Mr Butler accurately points out that there are no mandatory standards for carbon dioxide emissions from cars. However, the evidence does not back up the idea that a Corolla bought in Australia emits double the carbon dioxide as the same type of car in the UK. The comparison Mr Butler refers to was one made between two very different cars in the Corolla range ' an Australian petrol model and a UK petrol-electric hybrid. A closer comparison would have been between the UK and Australian petrol models, or the UK hybrid and Australian Prius which shared the same engine. While Mr Butler has fairly accurately described a comparison that was set out in a 2014 Climate Change Authority report, the comparison was flawed at the time and changes in model line-ups mean the figures are not valid for 2017.
Verdict: Ill-informed