At a time Australia is meant to be reducing its greenhouse emissions, the upward trend in transport sector emissions continues. The latest National Greenhouse Gas Inventory report released last week shows the transport sector emitted 102 million tonnes (Mt) of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO₂-e) in the 12 months to September 2019. This was 18.9% of Australia\u27s emissions

Laird, Philip G

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Research Online

University of Wollongong Research Online Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part B Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences 2020 Transport is letting Australia down in the race to cut emissions Philip G. Laird University of Wollongong, plaird@uow.edu.au Follow this and additional works at: https://ro.uow.edu.au/eispapers1  Part of the Engineering Commons, and the Science and Technology Studies Commons Recommended Citation Laird, Philip G., "Transport is letting Australia down in the race to cut emissions" (2020). Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part B. 3894. https://ro.uow.edu.au/eispapers1/3894 Research Online is the open access institutional repository for the University of Wollongong. For further information contact the UOW Library: research-pubs@uow.edu.au Transport is letting Australia down in the race to cut emissions Abstract At a time Australia is meant to be reducing its greenhouse emissions, the upward trend in transport sector emissions continues. The latest National Greenhouse Gas Inventory report released last week shows the transport sector emitted 102 million tonnes (Mt) of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO₂-e) in the 12 months to September 2019. This was 18.9% of Australia's emissions. Disciplines Engineering | Science and Technology Studies Publication Details Laird, P. (2020). Transport is letting Australia down in the race to cut emissions. The Conversation, 2 March 1-6. This journal article is available at Research Online: https://ro.uow.edu.au/eispapers1/3894 AuthorPhilip Laird Philip Laird is a Friend of TheConversation.Honorary Principal Fellow, University ofWollongongAcademic rigour, journalistic flairAt a time Australia is meant to be reducing its greenhouse emissions, the upward trendin transport sector emissions continues. The latest National Greenhouse Gas Inventoryreport released last week shows the transport sector emitted 102 million tonnes (Mt) ofcarbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO₂-e) in the 12 months to September 2019. This was18.9% of Australia’s emissions.Overall, the trend in emissions from all sectors have been essentially flat since 2013. IfAustralia is to reduce emissions, all sectors including transport must pull their weight.Read more: Four ways our cities can cut transport emissions in a hurry: avoid, shift, share and improvee2dan/ShutterstockMarch 2, 2020 6.03am AEDTTransport is letting Australia down in the race to cut emissions https://theconversation.com/transport-is-letting-australia-down-in-the-rac...1 of 6 5/03/2020, 11:51 amTransport emissions have gone up 64% since 1990. That’s the largest percentage increase of anysector.Transport sector emissions include the direct burning of fuels for road, rail, domestic aviation anddomestic shipping, but exclude electricity for electric trains.Transport emissions are now equal second with stationary energy (fuels consumed in themanufacturing, construction and commercial sectors and heating) at 18.9%. The electricity sectorOverall trend emissions, by quarter, September 2009 to September 2019. National Greenhouse Gas InventoryTransport emissions, actual and trend, by quarter, September 2009 to September 2019. Source: National Greenhouse Gas InventoryTransport is letting Australia down in the race to cut emissions https://theconversation.com/transport-is-letting-australia-down-in-the-rac...2 of 6 5/03/2020, 11:51 amproduces 33.6% of all emissions. The main reasons for transport emissions trending upwards are anover-dependence on cars with high average fuel use and an over-reliance on energy-intensive roadfreight.Inevitable results of policy failureIncreasing transport emissions are a result of long-standing government policies on both sides ofpolitics. In 2018, the Climate Council noted:Australia’s cars are more polluting; our relative investment in and use of public and activetransport options is lower than comparable countries; and we lack credible targets, policies,or plans to reduce greenhouse gas pollution from transport.John Quiggin and Robin Smit recently wrote about vehicle fuel efficiency for The Conversation. Theycited new research that indicates emissions from road transport will accelerate. This is largely due toincreased sales of heavier vehicles, such as four-wheel drives, and diesel cars.Read more: We thought Australian cars were using less fuel. New research shows we were wrongThe government has ignored recommendations to adopt mandatory fuel-efficiency standards for roadpassenger vehicles. Australia is the only OECD country without such standards.Research by Hugh Saddler found a marked increase in CO₂ emissions from burning diesel (up 21.7Mtbetween 2011 and 2018). A 2015 Turnbull government initiative to phase in from 2020 to 2025 astandard of 105g of CO₂ per kilometre for light vehicles was “shelved after internal opposition andcriticism from the automotive lobby”.At the same time, the uptake of electric vehicles is slow. Economist Ross Garnaut, in his 2019 bookSuperpower: Australia’s Low-Carbon Opportunity, sums it up:Australia is late in preparation for and investment in electric road transport.Read more: Clean, green machines: the truth about electric vehicle emissionsAustralia’s low transport energy efficiency (and so high CO₂ emissions) has also attracted overseasattention. The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy rates the world’s 25 largest energy Transport is letting Australia down in the race to cut emissions https://theconversation.com/transport-is-letting-australia-down-in-the-rac...3 of 6 5/03/2020, 11:51 amusers for sectors including transportation. In 2018, Australia slipped two places to 18th overall. It was20th for transportation with just 6.5 points out of a possible 25 on nine criteria.On four of these criteria, Australia scored zero: fuel economy of passenger vehicles, having no fuel-efficiency standards for passenger vehicles and heavy trucks, and having no smart freight programs.For vehicle travel per capita, the score was half a point. For three metrics – freight task per GDP, useof public transport, and investment in rail transit versus roads – Australia scored just one point each.Only in one metric, energy intensity of freight transport, did Australia get full marks. This was a resultof the very high energy efficiency of the iron ore railways in Western Australia’s Pilbara region.The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has also questioned the Australian government’s preferencefor funding roads rather than more energy-efficient rail transport. The IMF says Australia should bespending more on infrastructure, but this should be on rail, airports and seaports, rather than roads.What can be doneThe first thing is to acknowledge that our preferred passenger transport modes of cars and planescause more emissions than trains, buses, cycling and walking. For example, CO₂ emissions per passenger km can be 171 grams for a passenger car as against 41g for domestic rail.For freight, our high dependence on trucks rather than rail or sea freight increases emissions by afactor of three.Read more: Labor's plan for transport emissions is long on ambition but short on detailsA 1996 report, Transport and Greenhouse, from what is now the federal Bureau of Infrastructure,Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE), reviewed no fewer than 16 measures (including five “noData source: Greenhouse gas reporting: conversion factors 2019Transport is letting Australia down in the race to cut emissions https://theconversation.com/transport-is-letting-australia-down-in-the-rac...4 of 6 5/03/2020, 11:51 amClimate change rail transport Transport emissions Fuel efficiency Transport planning Road transportregrets” measures) to cut transport emissions. In a 2002 report, Greenhouse Policy Options for Transport, BITRE offered 11 measures to reduce vehicle kilometres travelled (VKT), nine measures toreduce emissions per VKT, and four road-pricing measures (mass-distance charges for heavy trucks,tolls, internalising transport externalities and emission charging).BITRE last appeared to revisit this important issue in a 2009 report on transport emission projectionsto 2020. This report projected a total of 103.87Mt CO₂-e for 2019. Actual 2019 transport emissionswill be about 102Mt.It’s important to note that BITRE’s 2009 projection was on a business-as-usual basis. The currentlevel of about 4 tonnes a year per person is where Australia was in 2000.Clearly, Australia needs to do better. As well as the BITRE remedies, another remedy would be toadopt a 2002 National Action Plan approved by the Australian Transport Council in collaborationwith the Commonwealth, state and territory governments. The plan included, within ten years,“programs that encourage people to take fewer trips by car” and a shift “from predominantly fixed topredominantly variable costs” to “ensure that transport users experience more of the true cost of theirtravel choices”. This did not proceed.However, New Zealand has effectively adopted this approach for many years. Petrol excise is now66.524 cents per litre (just 42.3c/l in Australia) and the revenue goes to the National Land TransportFund for roads and alternatives to roads, resulting also in lower registration fees for cars. NewZealand has had mass distance pricing for heavy trucks for 40 years. These measures have notstopped its economy performing well.Why do measures that would reduce transport emissions continue to be so elusive in Australia?You mightl likVIDEO: Michelle Grattan on the government’semergency plan, climate change, and Bettina ArndtVital Signs: a 3-point plan to reach net-zero emissions by 2050Transport is letting Australia down in the race to cut emissions https://theconversation.com/transport-is-letting-australia-down-in-the-rac...5 of 6 5/03/2020, 11:51 amAngus Taylor sets down ‘markers’ to measure success of government’stechnology roadmapGrattan on Friday: Morrison looks to his messaging on coronavirus and climateTransport is letting Australia down in the race to cut emissions https://theconversation.com/transport-is-letting-australia-down-in-the-rac...6 of 6 5/03/2020, 11:51 am

Transport is letting Australia down in the race to cut emissions

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Transport is letting Australia down in the race to cut emissions

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