sector?
According to the experts, savings are possible but require a big shift in behaviour, encouraged by changes to transport policies – locally and at national level.
on the road
When it comes to travelling by car, there are two basic ways to reduce the level of emissions: driving more efficiently and driving less.
driving more efficiently
More efficient driving means getting more miles out of every gallon of fuel or using different fuels. So we need to look at the way people drive and the types of car they use. The performance of modern vehicles varies enormously, from small vehicles that can do 65-70 mpg, to big gas-guzzlers that manage less than 15 mpg. Carbon dioxide emissions are directly related to miles per gallon and so can vary from 104 g/km for a Toyota Prius hybrid to 520 g/km for a sports car (Lamborghini Diablo 132) and 387 g/km for a 4X4 (Toyota Land Cruiser). Within each class of car performance varies too: at 186-219 g/km, for example, a Lexus hybrid is much more polluting than the Prius. An average motor emits 90 kg of carbon dioxide for every full tank of petrol used.
A UK government-commissioned study found that, assuming the car will continue to be the way most people choose to get around, the best thing to do will be to make cars as low-carbon as possible. The European Union has set a target for car manufacturers to reduce average emissions from new cars to 140 g/km carbon dioxide by 2010; new cars sold in the UK in 2006 were above this average, at 167.2 g/km. Tougher emissions standards for vehicles would make one of the biggest contributions to cutting transport’s carbon fuel bill.
driving less
Another way of cutting emissions is to reduce the numbers of car journeys. In the UK 17 million people go to work by car. Workplace travel schemes can make it easier to leave the car at home – with employers providing cycle facilities, showers and loans to buy a bike, or setting up lift-share schemes or loans for season tickets on public transport.
SUPER CYCLEWAYS:
By 2025 London could be the cycling capital of the world. Around £4 million will see cycling become a fully-funded part of the public transport network. Plans include a new free bike lending scheme (offering 6,000 bikes every 300 m) and 12 cycle highways to make pedal power a real travel choice for everyone.
Flexible working can reduce the need to commute – working from home one day a week can cut transport emissions by 20 per cent. A study by BT into the impact of home working found that, on average, employees working from home reduced their carbon dioxide emissions by 15.2 kg per week. Even assuming that some savings would be lost by increases in home energy use, the study found total emissions for 5,000 employees were reduced by some 3,663 tonnes per year.
Cycling and walking can be easy alternatives for short car trips, but longer journeys and city-wide travel need better public transport. Good bus services, light rail and trams can provide alternatives to driving, substantially reducing carbon dioxide emissions.
The city of Curitiba in Brazil has been held up as a model of what public transport can achieve if investment and urban planning keep the needs of people in mind. The city, which has a growing population of more than 1.6 million people, invested in buses as its main public transport, creating special bus-only avenues. The system, which is cheap to use, carries some 2.14 million passengers a day despite high levels of car ownership. The result has been cleaner city air and some of lowest rates of fuel consumption per person in Brazil.
Freiburg in Germany (see also pp.94-95) is one of many European cities to have developed a low-carbon approach to getting about. The city has 160 km of sign-posted cycle paths, cycle-only streets and special access on one-way routes. Buses and trams carry 67 million people a year, with cheap tickets for families.
In France the Mayor of Paris has introduced a low-cost bike rental scheme in the capital, providing bicycles at 750 stations around the city. Users of the Velib bike scheme can buy either an annual pass (priced at £20) or a one-day pass (less than £1), with short journeys completely free. Paris has some 230 miles of cycle paths and the number of cyclists in the city has increased by 50 per cent in the past ten years.
A charge on drivers entering the city centre, combined with investment in public transport, has cut the level of traffic in inner London, with increases in the numbers of people travelling by tube and bus. One opinion survey found that 1 in 5 drivers would leave their car at home and use public transport if road charging schemes were introduced across the UK.
Improvements to public transport can tempt drivers out of their cars for longer distance trips, with both coach and rail travel offering lower carbon dioxide emissions per passenger mile. Planning policies can also have an impact – for instance local development plans can ensure new shops are accessible by public transport or by foot.
A UK government study found that with the right policies, emissions from road transport could be reduced by 60 per cent from 1990 levels by 2030. Some of these savings depend on using hybrid vehicles and alternative fuels, but measures such as road pricing, energy-efficient driving and changes to freight distribution systems also had a role to play.
VIVE LA REVOLUTION:
‘This is about revolutionising urban culture,’ says Pierre Aidenbaum, mayor of Paris’ third arrondissement, as the capital provides more than 10,000 bicycles for Parisians and visitors alike.
potential emissions savings from different transport measures
| measure | saving* |
| Low emissions vehicles | 18.3 – 9.1 |
| Alternative fuels | 9.1 – 1.8 |
| Greener driving | 4.6 – 2.5 |
| Improved freight/local production | 2.5 – 0.7 |
| Travel plans, car clubs, car sharing | 2.4 – 0.9 |
| Better planning | 2.4 – 0.5 |
| Road pricing | 2.3 – 1.1 |
| Use of IT | 1.2 – 0.3 |
| Rail for air | 0.7 – 0.5 |
*million tonnes carbon per year
Further savings would be possible if we changed the way we live in our cities and towns: better inner city housing and pedestrian and cycle access to shops and services encourage people to use their cars less. When planners redeveloped the German capital of Berlin, they included a car-free zone in the centre as part of the city’s commitment to cut emissions by 40 per cent by 2020. Homes in the car-free area are surrounded by pedestrian and cycle paths, but no parking spaces. Local shops and services mean residents do not need to use a car. A new building code now restricts parking for new buildings in the city.
Better public transport, towns designed for pedestrians, less congestion, less pollution, and fewer journeys by car could all improve our quality of life.
air travel
Air travel accounts for a growing percentage of the UK’s carbon dioxide emissions. If current levels of growth continue, emissions from aviation could account for 80 per cent of the UK’s entire carbon budget by 2050.
There is certainly scope to make aeroplanes more efficient. Improvements have been made since the first jets came into service in the 1960s – although early jets were much more polluting than their propellor-driven predecessors and jets have only recently reached the same level of efficiency as the engines
