Electric vehicles need to make up 85 per cent of car purchases in 2035 for Australia to meet even the lower end of its new emissions target, putting pressure on the Albanese government to maintain costly incentives for EV adoption and drastically increase investment in charging infrastructure.

The Albanese government on Thursday committed to reducing national greenhouse gas emissions by 62 to 70 per cent on 2005 levels by 2035, in line with the recommendation put forward by the Climate Change Authority last week.

But the published advice from the independent authority, chaired by former NSW Liberal energy minister Matt Kean, states even the lower end can only be achieved if half the light vehicles – cars, motorcycles, SUVs, vans and utes – sold in the next decade are electric.

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