Transport
Emissions from transport are growing faster than those from any other sector. From 1971-2004, transport-related CO2 emissions from oil more than doubled. And they’re expected to double again by 2050.
Success Stories
In 2004 the transport sector produced 6 billion tonnes of CO2 – 74% of which came from road transport. This makes up 13% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. More of an issue is that emissions from this sector are growing faster than those from any other (at an average of 2.4% a year). 
From 1971 – 2004, transport-related CO2 emissions from oil more than doubled. And they’re expected to double again by 2050.
Rising emissions from transport have several causes:
- Growing transport networks in the industrialising world. The WBCSD Sustainable Mobility Project predicts that most of the transport sector’s growth to 2050 will occur in the developing world.4 By 2030 it is projected that there will be more cars in the developing world than in developed nations.
- Freight transport currently consumes 35% of all energy used for transport. At the moment most domestic freight goes by truck, and international freight by ship. But an increasing amount of freight is going by air instead of sea, and by road instead of by rail. While these methods are quicker, they are more energy-intensive.
- Planes are the third major factor. They are responsible for about 3% of all global CO2 emissions – a figure that will rise to 5% by 2050 Civil aviation is one of the fastest-growing parts of the transport sector, with passenger air traffic expected to double by 2020 and freight traffic even sooner. What makes matters worse is that as planes burn fuel at altitude, the greenhouse gas emissions they produce are up to three times more harmful than those from other forms of transport.
Is there an answer?
Given the current growth of the transport sector’s emissions, and the fact that the majority of emissions come from millions of individual vehicles, big steps forward will be extremely difficult. However, rising fuel prices may go some way to encouraging a shift to low carbon transport alternatives. And the IPCC have also identified several ways to start reducing transport emissions.
These fit into three broad categories:
- Better vehicle efficiency
- Alternative fuels
- Alternative modes of transport -
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- Freight transport: from road to rail and shipping
- Passenger transport: from cars to public or non-motorized transport
To make a difference on the scale needed, governments and business need to drive the agenda. Governments are responsible for the infrastructure in which our transport operates, so there’s a lot that they can do to reduce the sector’s emissions. At the same time, businesses need to reduce the impact of their work-related travel, their employees’ commute and their fleet emissions.
What can be done by governments?
Put a price on carbon
The transport sector is very inefficient, but there aren’t many mechanisms in place to encourage reform. By putting a price on carbon and investing in broader sector reform, governments can shift the industry’s mindset towards ‘greener’ transport. When putting together low-carbon strategies, governments should also work with businesses and civil society. This way, new mechanisms to reduce emissions will have support from all sides, and will be more likely to work.
Back low-carbon transport alternatives
There are many ways that Governments can promote less carbon-intensive transport. Alternatives to conventional petrol and diesel engines already exist, but governments need to help these become commercially viable. This could mean offering tax cuts for non-fossil fuel vehicles or providing resources for businesses to upgrade their fleets to low-carbon vehicles.
Getting businesses to transport freight by rail or sea instead of air is also possible with government support. Finally, governments can also take measures to improve the public transport infrastructure, and ease congestion by providing high occupancy vehicle lanes and promoting car pooling.
Cut emissions from aviation
Given the potency of CO2 emissions released high in the atmosphere, this is a particularly important step. The EU plans to include aviation in its emissions trading scheme from 2009. By putting a price on the carbon emitted by the sector, it’s hoped that market forces will make airlines reduce their emissions. However, there are other measures that could cut the amount of fuel used by the sector and make more of a direct impact on emission levels. These include choosing more fuel-efficient routes and single-engine taxiing.
Provide money for infrastructure
In the long term, low-carbon transport systems will only work if they pay for themselves, or cost the public a minimal amount. But in the meantime, significant investment by government is needed for two reasons: to replace current infrastructures in developed countries, and to help developing countries create transport systems that are low-carbon from the start.
Help low-carbon pilot schemes become mainstream
When a low-carbon pilot project works, it’s essential that it gets copied elsewhere – preferably on a larger scale. There are many examples of local and national governments making this happen. For example, the London congestion charge was introduced as a result of the success of similar schemes in Copenhagen and Singapore. And 11 US states went on to adopt emissions standards after they were a success in California.
Educate
One of the biggest barriers to action is ignorance, and governments have a duty to provide information to help people take action. One way they already do this is by providing businesses with government-backed loans to help employees buy season tickets or bikes to commute to work. Then communicate the scheme.
Measure your transport emissions
As a start, it’s important for companies to track and account for their transport emissions. This means the results from efforts to cut transport emissions can then be measured. Also, by monitoring transport emissions, any unavoidable emissions can be measured and offset.
Reduce emissions from business travel
There are a number of ways to do this. Offsetting business flights, taking trains or using hybrid vehicles in your fleet are simple starting points. And video conferencing can help cut the amount people need to travel on business.
To help employees cut emissions from their commute, companies can also promote car sharing, provide company transport from train and bus stations and offer interest-free loans to help employees buy bicycles or public transport season tickets.
For freight companies, smart logistics exchanges can help to pick the shortest routes to take, and make sure that vehicles don’t return empty. This will improve efficiency.
Form partnerships
In Germany, Lufthansa and Deutsche Bahn joined together to promote the use of trains over planes. Through AIRail, the companies have successfully shifted some of Germany’s domestic short-haul routes onto the rail network without lengthening journey times.
Take action at the top
For any initiative to work, senior management must set the ball rolling. Seeing the CEO driving a hybrid vehicle or cycling to work can be a very powerful example for the rest of the company.
Get your employees on board
For small companies this means making sure that your emissions-reduction scheme covers all your staff. For national or multinational companies it might mean introducing a successful initiative from another office, depot or department. Pfizer offered a cash incentive, equivalent to the daily price of parking a car at work, to all employees at a particular site in the UK for not driving to work. The scheme was so successful it was introduced to a number of other UK sites.
Key data
Hot topic: Offsetting
Offsetting is an increasingly popular way to deal with flight emissions. Some airlines now even include offsets in ticket prices or through programs like Continental Airlines’ Carbon Offset Program.
However, as planes burn fuel at altitude, the greenhouse gas emissions they produce are up to three times more harmful than those from other forms of transport, and some offsetting initiatives have been criticised for not taking this increased global warming potential (GWP) into account.
Choosing an offset scheme? Check that it’s verified using accreditation standards such as the Voluntary Carbon Standard.