Transport - what's the big deal? According to the International Energy Agency's (IEA), transport accounted for 37% of CO2 emissions from end‐use sectors in 2021. Australia's National Greenhouse Gas Inventory report from last December lists transport as 20.2% of our total emissions. Any way you look at it, its a big chunk of the global challenge.
The IEA's sectoral report card had transport marked as 🔴Not On Track (for meeting the Paris Agreement 1.5 degrees C pathway). Ouch. The globe is failing its transport report card with a need to:
rapidly electrify road vehicles,
put in place more operational and technical efficiency measures (to reduce carbon intensity of all transport modes - i.e. like the standards vehicles are built to)
commercialise and scale up low carbon fuels (especially in hard to abate sectors like maritime and aviation), and
policies to encourage shifts to lower carbon-intensive travel options.
[Adapted from IEA Transport Sectoral Overview 2022]
Who plays a role in our transport emissions report card ?
Looking at the list, the government's role would be on areas like 2 and 4. The government can support the development of standards, invest in better public transport systems, and incentivize low-carbon travel options which would drive industry to focus on the availability and competitiveness of areas like 1 and 3.
Just like they did with energy-efficient appliances (see the post on energy use in appliances), setting standards and mandating labels, the government can drive market transformation for more efficient vehicles.
But Australia is behind in vehicle or fuel emissions standards. Unlike the US and Europe, we lack stringent limits to promote the shift away from internal combustion engine vehicles. Other countries have set clear targets and timelines for transitioning to electric vehicles, while Australia has yet to establish a definitive plan.
In addition to standards, Zero-Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandates and supportive policies like subsidies and tax exemptions have proven successful elsewhere, whilst Australia lacks comprehensive nationwide incentives for EV adoption.
When the cost equation stacks up, and services are safe and plentiful, we are more likely to see the transition to lower carbon transport options for consumers, in the same way subsidies and lowering upfront costs dramatically increased solar panel uptake in Australian households.
Where do those emissions come from?
Looking at an individual level, the quickest way to rack up emissions would be from flying. One trip west to east coast return could be as much as driving back and forth to the office every day, we'll dive into the exact numbers in a later post. However, that's speaking from a position of privilege, and if we look at transport globally, it's day-to-day road driving that's causing a much bigger impact.
Without concerted efforts to encourage the use of public transportation and the adoption of electric vehicles, these challenges will continue to escalate. They will increase not only with increasing global population, but with the rising middle class in countries like India, where it's very likely we'll see a high correlation between increasing discretionary spending, car ownership and travel (aviation), much like it is in countries like the US, Canada and Australia.
What are MidGreen's goals around transport?
Avoid the drive | Swap the source | Offset |
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Next post we'll come back to the relative impact of my current transport habits and where I can get my biggest bang for buck in making sustainable changes. For now, check out this graphic from Victoria's Institute of Sustainable Tranpsort which does a great job of showing the relative emissions footprint of different transport choices we might make in a week.
Carpooling, jumping on the train or the bus will all make a big difference to this part of our footprint. Let's calculate exactly how much next post!
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