A company that installs chargers into London lamp posts could be the solution to one of Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison's electric vehicle concerns.
Richard Stobart founded Char.gy (Char.gy) when he decided to buy an electric vehicle but hit a snag: he had no off-street parking, and therefore nowhere to charge it.
His solution was to install charging units on London's lamp posts.
There are now 300 deployed across the United Kingdom, with a total of 9000 expected to be rolled out over five years.
The innovation has already attracted interest from other countries in Europe looking to reduce transport emissions, and Mr Stobart has also been talking to authorities in India and the US.
In six months he hopes to have induction pads rolled out in London, where drivers simply park their cars on chargers embedded in the road.
It could address an aspect of Australia's resistance towards embracing EVs: where do people who live in apartments charge their cars?
Mr Morrison asked the question in April, as just one of the government's concerns which included the current cost of EVs, loss of revenue from fuel excise, and whether families who rely on a bigger car or trade workers who use utes would be denied a choice.
Mr Stobart said the move to EVs is "inevitable".
"I'm not quite sure why there is such resistance," he said.
"I suppose the only people it doesn't benefit are the people making fossil fuels."
Transport is the UK's biggest challenge and is the biggest source of emissions at almost 25 per cent.
Electric vehicles are being embraced as part of its Road to Zero Strategy for all cars to be zero emission by 2050.
Australia has committed to reducing greenhouse emissions by just 26 per cent by 2030, which Energy and Emissions Reductions Minister Angus Taylor says is "responsible and achievable".
London's iconic red buses and black cabs are transitioning, with cab drivers saying they save around PS110 a week in fuel.
Public consumer demand for EVs in the UK is already stripping what manufacturers can produce, with a six-month waitlist for most cars.
Mike Thompson, from the UK Committee on Climate Change, said bipartisan support for the transition from all levels of government has been crucial and that the switch to EVs would help solve both climate change and air quality.
He said the current challenges for EV uptake are still cost, and battery range, but that improvements in technology are addressing both of these issues.
"My car goes about 100 miles (160km) before you have to plug it in and that is a pain even in the UK," he said.
"Most of the models being brought to market next year will have a 200 mile (322km) range rather than a 100 mile range."
Reporter travelled to the UK courtesy of The Climate Council
