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As the source of substantial and rapidly growing greenhouse
gas emissions, transport must clearly be part of a global agreement to mitigate
climate change. In its current form, however, the Kyoto Protocol ignores the
international maritime and aviation sectors. The omission is perhaps not
surprising — after all, setting up a system to allocate international
transport’s emissions to individual countries is no easy task. But it is a
significant flaw, since the two sectors together account for around a quarter
of all transport emissions.
Despite its shortcomings, the COP-15 climate summit in
December 2009 succeeded in bringing transport closer to climate mitigation
discussions. Almost all participants recognised that international transport
emissions need to be addressed as part of broader efforts to mitigate climate
change. Consequently, the relevant United Nations bodies — the International
Maritime Organization and the International Civil Aviation Organization — were
asked to work towards an agreement on reducing emissions.
The EU is acting on transport emissions
The European Union is likewise adamant about tackling
emissions from all forms of transport. Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso
has made it clear that decarbonising transport is a priority for his second
term. Similarly, the new Commissioner for Climate Action, Connie Hedegaard, has
stressed the importance of developing a low-carbon strategy for transport.
Climate mitigation has thus moved to the heart of
transport policy and indeed to the heart of EU policy. Scientists talk about
the need for a 50 % reduction in global greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and
80–95 % reductions on the part of developed countries. And transport will clearly
have to contribute. Today the sector accounts for around one quarter of all EU
emissions, so we can only meet these long-term emissions targets if we reduce
emissions from the transport sector.
Emission
trading for transport?
The
scale of transport’s GHG emissions clearly demands a policy response. Transport
is generally not exposed to international competition, meaning that a trip from
Paris to Poznan
cannot be replaced by one from Singapore
to Sidney.
There is therefore no real risk of ‘carbon leakage’ with emissions that are
regulated in Europe simply moving abroad.
This, in principle, makes transport a good candidate for emission trading as a
means to regulate emissions.
Two
other criteria should also be met before embarking on a trading scheme. First,
the number of operators in the market must be limited in order to make the
allocation of allowances manageable. Aviation meets this criterion and emission
trading will start in coming years. Maritime transport could also meet this
criterion but verification is more difficult because ships can carry fuel for
longer periods of time than planes. Rail is already covered by emission trading
as the electricity used is bought from a sector under emission trading. Road
transport, however, cannot meet the ‘limited number of operators’ criterion as
each driver is essentially an operator.
Second,
the carbon price should be high enough to induce a change in behaviour. The
current carbon prices would add less than 1 ¢ per kilometre to the cost of
driving a car (less than 4 ¢ per litre of fuel). Compared to present fuel taxes
it is insignificant and therefore unlikely to have any impact on behaviour.
Cleaner cars but more of them
Some issues have already been addressed. New passenger
cars have been put on a trajectory towards emissions of 95 g CO2/km by 2020 —
almost a 50 per cent cut compared to 1990. Unfortunately traffic levels are
growing at around the same rate as average emissions are projected to fall,
meaning that the net effect may still be far from what we need.
Initiatives exist to include vans and, with a longer
time perspective, trucks into the emissions target. But without complementary
measures there is still a risk that most improvements will be offset by the
growth in traffic. Indeed, more efficient vehicles may lower transport costs in
the long run, thereby increasing the demand for transport (a phenomenon known
as ‘the rebound effect’). This process is already apparent in the airline
industry. Half a century ago few could afford a vacation in Thailand but now
it is available to a broad segment of society.
The changes that are needed are thus profound.
Transport is an integral element of our lives and changes therefore affect us
all. Small incremental adjustments may not be enough to deliver a shift away
from a carbon-based paradigm. Instead, addressing the climate challenge
requires us to create a vision of what the transport system should be like by
the middle of the century, so that it can be debated. The process of
establishing a new Common Transport Policy for the EU is essentially about
creating this vision and then filling it out with policies that can deliver its
goals. This will be the real challenge in creating a pathway towards a
de-carbonised transport sector.
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European Mobility Week 2010: travel smarter, live better
Widespread and increasing use of motor vehicles in urban areas impacts not only human health but also the quality of life in cities. During European Mobility Week, 16–22 September, more than 1 500 cities across Europe will promote sustainable transport in urban areas and let their residents enjoy a car-free day. The European Environment Agency has tips to help you make your daily trips more environmentally friendly.
See also
Green tip – carpooling
Permalinks
For references, please go to https://www.eea.europa.eu/articles/climate-change-mitigation-impossible-without-transport or scan the QR code.
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