The South Australian Government has announced its Low Emission Vehicle Strategy at the Rio 20 Conference.

Developed in consultation with industry partners, the strategy promotes the use and development of fuel efficient and electric vehicles as well as renewable and low emission fuels, according to the South Australian Government.

Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation, Paul Caica said the strategy is designed to capture the opportunities offered by new vehicle technologies to both the South Australian automotive sector and the community.

“This will lead to cleaner vehicles, reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and improvements in local air quality,” Mr Caica said.

Mr Caica said actions such as the development of this strategy are vital to achieving sustainable development.

Minister for Transport and Infrastructure, Patrick Conlon said the strategy complements other transport system initiatives aimed at reducing reliance on private passenger transport and increasing freight transport efficiency.

Mr Conlon said the government supports technologies that enable the transport system to reduce its reliance on conventional fuels while also delivering environmental benefits for the state.

“The implementation of new technologies is imperative in order to deliver transport system improvements,” Mr Conlon said.

According to the South Australian Government, the strategy builds on the government’s past and present achievements in relation to low emission vehicles.

The state government already uses low emission fuels and electric vehicles with a further commitment to reduce government vehicle emissions by 10 per cent per kilometre by 2015, the South Australian Government said.