Climate Change & Transport
Please note that due to
copyright restrictions that
apply to publishing this
presentation on the Climate
Change portal, some of the
original images have been
changed or removed.
Dr Lee Chapman
University of Birmingham
Source: Fred Pearce, 'Climate Change: Menace or Myth?’, New Scientist magazine, issue 2486, 12 February
2005, page 38
Greenhouse gas emissions from the UK transport industry
Source: ONS Environmental Accounts, 2003 - Figures in million tonnes of CO2 equivalent
Cars (62.8)
Road Freight (23.4)
Buses (4.8)
Taxis (2.7)
Aviation (37.5)
Water Transport (15)
Rail (1.5)
Tubes / Trams (0.8)
Pipeline (0.3)
C02 emissions per Passenger Kilometre
Source: Strategic Rail Authority
350
CO2 (grams)
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
Aviation
Car
Bus
Rail
Walking &
Cycling
Motor Cars
• Developed world is obsessed with the
motor car
• Affordability has increased worldwide
and therefore so have the number of
cars
• In the UK, 89% of motorists agreed
with the statement “I would find it
very difficult to adjust my lifestyle to
being without a car” (Source: RAC,
2003)
Motor Cars: What can we do?
• Change attitudes: Modal Shift
– Use Public Transport
– Walking & Cycling (a quarter of all
car trips are under 2 miles long!)
– Home working / Local shopping
• Change Policy
– Congestion charging, road pricing,
increase fuel taxes, car-sharing
– Improved traffic management
• Use Technology
– Diversification of fuel: LPG,
Biofuel, Hydrogen, Electric
– Choose cars with high fuel
efficiency – not 4x4s!
Images from www.bigfoto.com
Aviation
• Five-fold increase in air
travel over the last 30yrs
and will treble again in the
UK by 2030
(DfT, 2003; 2005)
• Why?
– Cheap & Frequent Flights
– Holiday Homes / Business Trips
– Air Freight
Image from www.bigfoto.com
• A holidaymaker flying to Florida and back
creates as much CO2 as the average British
motorist does in a year (Friends of the Earth)
• Short haul flights are very inefficient
Aviation
• Overall effect on climate is 5X greater than
that of CO2 alone – mainly because of
emissions directly into the upper levels of the
atmosphere:
–
–
–
–
–
CO2 (‘well mixed’)
Ozone
Methane
Water Vapour
Contrails
Contrails image from www.nasa.gov
Aviation: What can we do?
• Change Attitudes: Modal Shift
– Use Rail for short haul – 10 times less polluting
– Shipping for freight
• Change Policy
–
–
–
–
Emissions charging / trading
Not included in the Kyoto Protocol
Optimise existing capacity
Fly at lower levels
• Use Technology
– Improved aircraft design
– Reduce fuel burn
– Alternative fuels?
Other Modes
• Rail
– Still polluting, but a cleaner
alternative for freight and
passengers.
– Requires significant investment
– Electric rail in place of Diesel?
• Shipping
Image:mazhewit at www.flickr.com
– Relatively environmentally friendly
– Cleaner fuels are available
– Slow mode of transport
• Buses
– Often the only alternative to cars
– Needs subsidies to be attractive
– Priority routing / Park & Rides etc
Image: www.pics4learning.com
‘Zero Carbon’ Modes
• Walking & Cycling
– Needs to be a real alternative
– a quarter of all car trips
are under 2 miles long!
– Cycles lanes, pedestrian zones
improved storage facilities,
walking buses, etc…
Summary
• Behavioural Change
Image:ratherbebiking at www.Flickr.com
– Modal Shift
– Zero Carbon Journeys
– Prompted by Government
• Sustainable environments
– Urban Sprawl
Image:malias at www.flickr.com