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ITF: Tackling transport CO2 emissions ‘reduces investment needs for core infrastructure’

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An ambitious transition to sustainable transport could be cheaper in terms of investment into core transport infrastructure than continuing as is – if action is taken now.

This is the main message of the ITF Transport Outlook 2023 report of the International Transport Forum at the OECD, presented on 24 May at the global Summit of transport ministers in Leipzig, Germany.

All transport decarbonisation measures currently in place and already committed to will reduce global transport-related CO2 emissions by only 3% by 2050. The transport sector would miss by a wide margin the reduction needed to keep climate change in check.

If action to decarbonise transport is ratcheted up and accelerated, the transport sector can still reduce its CO2 emissions by about 80% over the next 25 years (compared to 2019).

This drop would put transport on the right path for limiting the global temperature increase to “well below” 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, the goal of the Paris Climate Agreement.

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“Reaching this high-ambition scenario requires a combination of complementary policies that successfully avoid unnecessary transport activity, shift more trips from fuel-burning to no-carbon transport and improve the efficiency of transport generally”, said ITF Secretary-General Young Tae Kim in presenting the report.

“It will be absolutely essential to quickly scale up cost-competitive technologies and fuels to move people and goods with far, far fewer emissions. We can do all this if we take more decisive action now.”

Such an accelerated transition to low- and no-carbon transport requires significant investment. Providing the core infrastructure for the High Ambition scenario in the report, however, would require about 5% less investment than under current policies, according to the ITF’s projections.

“Freight transport will roughly double in the next 25 years if we stay on the current path, and passenger transport will grow by 79%. So we will also have to invest heavily under this scenario to accommodate this additional demand – and, from what we know,  probably more so than if we invested in a low-carbon future”, said Orla McCarthy, project lead for the ITF Transport Outlook 2023.

These projections consider investment needs for the core transport infrastructure – including rail lines, roads or ports – required to cater for future demand. Estimates for the extra investment needs for electric charging networks are also included in the report. This is the first edition of the ITF Transport Outlook to include estimates for infrastructure investment needs under both scenarios, to support policy decisions.

The report makes five recommendations for policy makers:

  1. Develop comprehensive strategies for future mobility and infrastructure
    Instead of providing infrastructure as a reaction to predicted demand, governments should take a “decide and provide” approach to investment, with a view to achieving certain public policy objectives.
  2. Accelerate the transition to clean vehicle fleets
    Accelerating the transition towards clean vehicles and fuels requires targeted policy support with ambitious objectives and support measures. Enabling infrastructure requires additional investment.
  3. Implement mode shift and demand-management policies where they are most effective
    Measures to reduce trips and travel distances, and encourage the use of more sustainable modes, work well in cities. For longer-distance travel, a transition to cleaner vehicles and fuels is the priority.
  4. Consider the additional benefits for urban areas when evaluating policies
    Many policies to decarbonise urban transport can make mobility more affordable, improve access, reduce congestion, free up space, reduce crash risks and limit air pollutants.
  5. Reform vehicle taxation to capture external costs of new vehicle fleets
    Falling fuel-tax revenues will hit revenues and make fuel taxes less effective as a policy lever as vehicles become emission-free. Road pricing and congestion charging can mitigate both.

Greener Transport Solutions lobbies Chancellor on carbon tax

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Greener Transport Solutions has called on the Chancellor to introduce a ‘universal carbon allowance’ to help households cope with the cost-of-living crisis and accelerate the transition to net zero.

The not-for-profit cites the war in Ukraine means that oil and gas prices have risen sharply, whilst food prices have hit record highs, while last week the cost of filling up an average family car with petrol hit £100 for the first time and inflation is expected to reach 10% later this year – and as high as 14% for poorer households.

On 26th May the Chancellor announced a £21 billion package to help households with their energy bills. However, Greener Transport Solutions says further measures are likely to be needed by the autumn and has asked how the Chancellor will ensure the right level of targeted support for those who most need it whilst avoiding inflationary pressures in the economy.

Its answer is to urge the Chancellor to develop a strategy to tackle the cost-of-living crisis that will accelerate the transition to net zero and protect our energy security. Namely, he should introduce a universal carbon allowance for every individual in the UK funded by putting a carbon price on everything we consume.

This would be a very progressive measure, the organisation claims. Individuals on higher incomes would pay more in carbon tax through all the goods and services they buy, whilst receiving the same fixed allowance as those on lower incomes. According to the Treasury’s Net Zero Review, higher income households consume three times more carbon than lower income households.

The IPCC has warned “now or never” if world is to avoid climate disaster. To avoid overshooting 1.5C global emissions must peak before 2025 and fall by 43% by 2030.  Such rapid emissions reduction is possible but only if every sector of the economy is targeted. Reducing energy demand across all sectors could deliver a 40-70 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Greener Transport Solutions has published a report on its ‘Pathways to Net Zero’ roundtable discussion series investigating how to decarbonise transport.

The key conclusion is that we are not seeing anywhere near the scale of change needed to achieve our net zero targets for transport.  Lack of leadership and lack of joined-up thinking undermines net zero ambitions. Spending is skewed towards road building and unsustainable transport policies.  We are still building car dependent housing developments. It says urgent focus is needed on traffic reduction.

Claire Haigh, Founder & CEO of Greener Transport Solutions, said: “The transport sector on its own cannot achieve net zero.  It’s clear that we urgently need a new approach.  We need a solution for the whole economy.

“The current crises we face all demonstrate that we must break our dependency on fossil fuels.  If we are to wean ourselves off fossil fuels, we must price properly for carbon.  This will generate the revenue needed to tackle the cost-of-living crisis.

“Record high fuel and energy prices are a game-changer.  We urge the Chancellor to seize the opportunity to tackle the cost-of-living crisis, shore up our energy security and accelerate the transition to net zero at the same time.”

The case for decarbonising existing fleet vehicles

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Lightfoot have launched their latest video titled ‘Doing Nothing Is Not An Option’, the video makes the case for actively decarbonising existing ICE vehicles within fleets whilst concurrently planning for the electric future.

Whilst the transition to EVs is the accepted long-term solution for the fleet industry, the reality is that the supply of electric vehicles is not currently available for an all-out adoption of EV fleets, and many fleets simply do not have the resources or infrastructure to go fully electric today.

Instead of making future plans to tackle decarbonisation solely through the eventual replacement of ICE vehicles with EVs, industry-leading green-tech provider Lightfoot argues that fleets should instead be looking to their existing fleet vehicles to reduce emissions, reduce fuel consumption, and take action now to protect the planet.

Watch the video to learn more.