Marrakech, Morocco, hosted the 22th Conference of the United Nations on climate change, COP22, where participating countries agreed to initiate the implementation of Paris Agreement effective since the beginning of November. The main elements of Paris Agreement stipulate to maintain global warming growth under 2 degrees Celsius, to limit growth to 1.5 degrees Celsius – which will significantly reduce risks and climate change impact – and to reduce global emissions. Within COP22, on November 18, 111 countries ratified the Agreement.
Through the Marrakech Action the Proclamation Commitment, the countries reaffirmed the implementation of the Paris Agreement which is considered “a global answer” to climate change. “This momentum is irreversible – it is being driven not only by governments, but by science, business and global action of all types at all levels. Our task now is to rapidly build on that momentum, together, moving forward purposefully to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to foster adaptation efforts, thereby benefiting and supporting the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),” the Proclamation says. Marrakech Proclamation requires a real political commitment to counteract climate change and urges the consolidation of solidarity with most vulnerable countries in terms of climate change impact. It also underlines the necessity of supporting efforts aimed at increasing the adaptation capacity and reducing vulnerability.
UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, said that all countries understand that climate action is essential for security, economic growth and the citizens’ quality of life and asked the developed countries to take the commitment to mobilise USD 100 billion by 2020 to support the actions of developing countries.
The transport system is one of the sectors that have a significant impact on climate change and the sustainable development of transport is fundamental for the progress of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda and for meeting the 17 objectives, a vision adopted by UN member states in 2015.
It is well-known the fact that transport is responsible for a significant share of GHG emissions worldwide, as their level increases at a faster pace compared to other sectors. Therefore, sustainable transport has to be seen and integrated as priority in local, regional, national and international development strategies.
At present, the transport sector represents 23% of the GHG emissions and is responsible for the premature death of 3.5 million people because of annual air pollution, especially in small and medium income countries. Because of processing, transport and storage spaces (which are not modern), trucks, poor roads and lack of access to refrigerating systems, around 10-15% of the volume of food products is lost. Around 1 billion people are still confronted with the lack of proper access to roads which increases isolation, marginalisation and deepens social inequities. Also, 1.2 million people are killed in road accidents every year. These road accidents also cause losses of billions of dollars that, in some countries, amount to 1-3% of the GDP. All these figures are mentioned in a report announced by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, two weeks before COP22 and considers global tendencies, including urbanisation, demographic shifts and globalisation, technological progress and global connectivity.
“Sustainable Transport enables people to access better services, jobs, opportunities and family connections. It is also a space where people spend a significant amount of time every day, and therefore it needs to consider safety issues as well as conditions of dignity for users. Leaving no-one behind in the context of Sustainable Transport means that in the coming decades we are able to build transport systems that are inclusive, integrated, gender-sensitive and that have people’s needs at their core,” High-Level Advisory Group on Sustainable Transport says. >
Consequently, the allocation of massive investments in sustainable transport systems represents a vital element for economic and social development and for meeting sustainable development objectives. The “Mobilizing Sustainable Transport for Development” report provides 10 recommendations on the way in which governments, the business environment and civil society should redirect transport resources to support sustainable initiatives. Focusing on road safety elements, traffic congestion, climate impact, the 10 specific actions include the establishment of monitoring and evaluation of frameworks, promotion of sustainable transport technologies and increase of international development financing. The report requires a much more solid commitment of all parties involved to ensure access to work, markets, education and health to all citizens. “Sustainable transport supports inclusive growth, job creation, poverty reduction, access to markets, the empowerment of women, and the well-being of persons with disabilities and other vulnerable groups,” UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says in the report’s foreword.
According to the report, “a transformational change to sustainable transport can be realised through annual investments of around USD 2 trillion, similar to the current ‘business as usual’ spending of USD 1.4 trillion to USD 2.1 trillion.”
Investments in sustainable transport could help save fuel and reduce operating costs, reduce congestion and polluted air. Additionally, it is estimated that efforts to promote sustainable transport could determine the saving of another USD 70 trillion by 2050.
Also, the GDP growth by USD 2.6 trillion (or 4.7%) could be determined by the development of sustainable freight and passenger transport, including through integrated port terminals, better planned airports, harmonised standards and regulations for border crossing points.
Challenges
Urbanisation. By 2050, worldwide urban population will increase by 2.5 billion reaching 66% of the total global population, and Africa and Asia will jointly sum up 90% of this growth. If in 2015 there were 29 mega-metropolises with over 10 million inhabitants, in 2030 there will be another 12 mega-metropolises, of which 10 in Africa and Asia. In this context, the UN report comes with the “last mile” challenge which must be considered within the transport system in any corner of the world. The transport of goods by rail, air, road or sea can also be cost-effective. When freight reaches main stations or ports, they must be shipped to end destinations. This is the end link of the logistics chain which usually is not efficient enough and has a major share in the significant increase of the total costs of freight shipping. In case of passenger transport, “last mile” is also a necessary element that has to be considered to reach sustainable transport objectives. “Last mile” is a challenge anywhere, but specifically in the rural regions of developing countries where the distance to a transport hub can be of hundreds of km. Thus, communities often suffer from lack of connections to large transport arteries, rail and road transport corridors and public transport links. These facts must be approached in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Demographic changes. Obviously, these trends impact on the transport system and accessibility and proximity are essential elements in developing an efficient transport system.
Global supply chains. The transport of freight and passengers is a global activity, with a permanently increasing flow for which governments and the private sector are preparing to meet future demands. For example, in Africa and Asia, the authorities are allocating financing for transit corridors to increase capacity and are trying to simplify border crossing procedures. The efficiency of logistics chain depends on “last mile” deliveries.
Digital connectivity. In term of demands, the information and communication technology enables the establishment of new options, the reduction of travel time, the selection of efficient transport modes with viable connections. For freight transport, the ICT technology facilitates the implementation of intermodal solutions, while for passenger transport, it facilitates the increase of attractiveness, performance and safety.
Financing matters
The report estimates that transport infrastructure investment needs stand at between USD 1.4 trillion and USD 2.1 trillion a year, and recent studies show that significant carbon reduction objectives could be reached by allocating investments in sustainable transport. Political factors, development banks and other financial institutions can stimulate the development of sustainable factors by setting criteria and standards that would encourage growth. The financing frameworks with this approach will be the main factor in aligning the different financing sources of sustainable transport and encourage the shift of traffic to sustainable systems.
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development underlines the importance of partnerships, including the implication of the private sector, as key factor in implementing objectives. PPPs represent an opportunity to become a leverage of expertise, innovation, financial resources and policy mechanisms. Also, they can be encouraged by national governments by creating frameworks that favour PPPs locally and by supporting local authorities and increasing the trust of private companies.
The chapter on infrastructure financing of the report also underlines the possibility of introducing innovative user charges and other fiscal instruments that can boost revenues and manage the transport demand shifting it from individual motorised transport to public transport alternatives, cycling etc. In the freight transport sector, traffic can be shifted from roads to multimodal solutions by combining road, rail and waterways transport. As far as air traffic is concerned, user charges are implemented to control air traffic, airport access and other facilities and services that make the air transport sector responsible for infrastructure costs.
The investment level in sustainable transport infrastructure is enormous and represents a true challenge for all parties involved in the process. A significant share of these resources will be supplied by the governments of developed countries and the private sector, and international financial institutions play a huge role in ensuring financing. Apart from supplying funds, IFIs can also assist the implementation of projects. One of the relevant examples is the agreement of the 8 multilateral development banks within the UN Rio+20 conference when they announced their commitment to supply USD 175 billion financing for transport over the new decade, funds that will be granted to sustainable transport projects.
Step by step, railways achieve the target
There is no doubt that rail transport is the key to the development of a sustainable transport system as it benefits from the right elements for such a development. According to UIC-IEA Railway Handbook on Energy Consumption & CO2 Emissions (2016) in 1975-2013, rail passenger transport activity increased by 133%, China and India being the largest contributors with an eight-fold increase, while EU28 increased by 10% (in the same period). The activity of the rail freight transport segment increased by 163%, with growth in China and Korea standing at 325% and 343% respectively.
The report says that in 2013 rail transport accounted for 2% of the total energy used by the transport sector, oil products being the energy source of rail transport in proportion of 57%, while electrification represented 36.4%. In the same year, 6 regions and states (EU28, US, Russia, China, India, Japan) were responsible for 78% of rail transport CO2 emissions, of which China accounted for one quarter of the amount.
In 2013, rail passenger transport energy consumption was of 138 kJ/pkm and 129 kJ/tkm for rail freight transport. Overall, in 1975-2013, rail energy consumption dropped by 63% (passengers) and by 48% (freight). Also, rail sector CO2 emissions dropped by 60% (passengers) and by 38% (freight).
Within the Paris Agreement (in 2015), through the Low Carbon Rail Transport Challenge, UIC committed to contribute to reducing energy consumption by traffic unit by 50% until 2030 and by 60% by 2050. It also commited to reduce CO2 emissions coming from train operations by 50% (until 2030) and by 75% (until 2050), compared to 1990 levels. Also, UIC set a modal shift with a growth target of 50% in the market share of passener transport (passenger-km). This target is expected to increase to 100% by 2050. Regarding freight transport, UIC’s objective was to reach the same share as road transport (tonne-km until 2030) and then a 50% increase compared to road transport until 2050.
Before adopting global commitments, UIC and the European Railways and Infrastructure Companies (CER) ratified the energy efficiency and CO2 performance target in the European rail sector for 2020, 2030 and 2050.
The UIC and CER European rail objectives include a 30% reduction of CO2 by 2020 and by 50% until 2030. By 2030, the European rail system should maintain the volume of total CO2 emissions coming from the operation of trains while considering estimated traffic growth. Energy efficiency objectives include a 30% reduction by 2030 and a 50% reduction by 2050.
The European rail sector is already making progresses: the share of renewable energy used by the European railway sector is higher than the renewable energy share of all European end-use sectors taken together. European railways have already achieved the EU Climate Package target of using 20% renewable energy in 2011 by 2020. Electrification and green procurement played a key role in achieving this target.
Apart from rail transport, public transport is also playing a significant role in meeting the Paris Agreement objectives. UITP is actively involved especially by committing to double public transport market share by 2025. In 2015, the Declaration on Climate Leadership (of UITP) was recognised as one of the 12 transport initiatives within UN’s Global Climate Action Agenda. The declaration includes 350 committments to implement projects within 110 public transport organisations of which 45% have already been implemented in 60 cities and have included increased measures of reducing carbon emissions and ecouraging shifting from individual motorised transport to public transport. UITP’s declaration supports the objective of doubling public transport share worldwide which, if reached, should reduce urban transport emissions per capita by 25% or the elimination of 500 million tonnes of CO2.
“It’s clear that the current modal share of public transport in many cities around the world is not sufficient to meet the Paris Agreement targets. Decarbonisation efforts in the transport sector therefore must go beyond technical actions and focus on long-term systemic shifts that will lock us into a low carbon pathway, making it easier to decarbonise the sector. This is where public transport is playing-and will continue to play-a vital role,” UITP Secretary General, Alain Flausch said.
The development of public transport systems requires political and financial support. National policy frameworks should support and coincide with local actions for a common approach of urban development, while infrastructure investments should be directed towards a single development for building a multimodal public transport system. Also, national climate policies have to accelerate the “avoid-shift-improve” approach, while climate financing should allocate a significant share to the sustainable transport sector. Financing should support the development and implementation of transport projects so that cities and countries should benefit from viable projects that meet the citizens’ demands. “Climate finance will not be enough so national governments need to enhance the capacity of cities to generate and direct financial resources to help raise revenue to invest in public transport and transit oriented development,” UITP says.
by Pamela Luica
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