[sustran] Principal Voices - transportation and sustainable mobility

[EcoPlan, Paris]

Friday, December 17, 2004. The Commons, Paris, France, Europe

 

Let me tell you a bit about a new project/program called Principal Voices.
in their own words "an international project aimed at provoking discussion
on some of the more compelling challenges confronting our world today.

 

"Over the next 12 months  <http://www.time.com/> TIME,
<http://www.fortune.com/> FORTUNE and  <http://edition.cnn.com/> CNN, in
association with  <http://www.shell.com/> Shell, will be presenting a series
of videos, articles and round-table discussions. Themes covered will include
the environment, business innovation, economic development and transport.
Each topic will bring together globally-renowned experts - Principal Voices
- who will explore the key issues, offering their ideas and opinions on how
to meet the challenges facing the planet as we move forward into the 21st
Century."

 

Among the first of these is transportation and sustainable mobility, the
content of which I share with you below.  For more, you are invited to go to
www.principalvoices.com <http://www.principalvoices.com/> .

 

You comments are more than welcome.

 

Eric Britton

 

*****************************************************

 

>From http://www.principalvoices.com/transport.html

 

 

TRANSPORT - WHERE IN THE WORLD ARE WE GOING?

 

Whether it be taking a bus round the corner to the local shops, or an
international flight from one side of the globe to the other, transport is
fundamental to the world in which we live. Economies rely upon it,
communities could not interact without it, people and goods could not move
from one place to another. If mass communications connect the world verbally
and visually, it is transport that binds it together physically.

As populations grow, cities expand, new markets open up and the pace of
globalization becomes ever more pronounced, so too do the challenges facing
those involved in transport, from the governments who formulate and
implement transport policy, to the industries - automotive, shipping, rail
and airline - that supply the basic means of movement.

While the precise nature of those challenges might vary from country to
country and industry to industry - planners in the developed world, for
instance, have to juggle a wholly different set of dynamics from those in
the Third World; the logistics of running an airline are not the same as
those of running, say a rail or motor company - there is one issue that
above all others dominates the current transport debate: That of sustainable
mobility.

 

SUSTAINABLE MOBILITY

 

The need to increase people's mobility by providing safe, efficient,
cost-effective transport, while at the same time minimizing the negative
impact of that transport on health, lifestyle and the environment, is the
key transport imperative of our time. It informs every aspect of the
transport agenda, from the creation of dedicated cycle lanes in urban
centres to the development of the latest super-jumbo airliner. As a recent
report by the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD)
puts it: "Moving people and freight in an environmentally sustainable manner
will be one of the biggest challenges of the 21st Century."

 

The scale and complexity of that challenge are daunting. It is not simply a
question of developing strategies to tackle transport-related pollution -
crucial in an age of global warming - but also of finding ways to conserve
natural resources, ease congestion of roads and airspace, cut noise, reduce
the number of accidents and increase social equity by improving transport
provision for the poorest nations. All this while at the same time keeping
transport affordable and ensuring that economic growth is not stifled.

"There are no quick fixes to this, no single solution," says Bjorn Stigson,
President of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD).
"Something has to be done, however, because if we continue the present
trends the world transport system simply cannot be sustained."

 

Al Cormier, President of Canada's Centre for Sustainable Transportation,
agrees: "The world's economy depends on transport. If we don't start making
the right changes, and adopting the right policies, we are heading towards a
very difficult situation."

The great car debate

 

The issue is particularly pressing for the automotive sector. Road vehicles
constitute by far the world's commonest form of motorised transport. In
2002, according to industry analysts WardsAuto.com, there were 787 million
motor vehicles in operation around the world, 586 million of them cars.

 

Not only are these vehicles responsible for more environmental pollution
than any other mode of transport - worldwide, according to the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), they emit a billion and a
half metric tonnes of carbon dioxide annually, 80 percent of the
transport-related total - but also by far the largest share of
transport-related deaths (over a million a year worldwide).

 

In addition they are a major cause of noise pollution, of traffic congestion
- in the U.S. alone, according to the General Accounting Office, it is
estimated the economy loses $100 billion annually due to gridlocked roads -
and of depletion of natural resources (the motor industry uses 20 percent of
all the world's steel, and 60 percent of its natural rubber).

Governments and motor companies alike have for some time acknowledged the
need for action. A whole raft of measures have been proposed and, in some
cases, implemented, everything from the expansion of urban metro systems to
inner-city congestion charging to tighter legislative guidelines on exhaust
emissions

 

In particular, greater emphasis is being placed on technical innovation.
Partly on their own initiative, partly under governmental duress, motor
companies have been pouring resources into the development of more
environmentally friendly fuels to propel their vehicles, as well as lighter
materials with which to build them (lighter vehicles require less energy).
Electricity, hydrogen, biodiesel, compressed natural gas, liquefied
petroleum gas, solar energy - all are power technologies that are in various
stages of development.

 

General Motors, for instance - the world's largest car company - has
invested heavily in the pollutant-free Hy-Wire, a fibre-glass vehicle that
uses a hydrogen-oxygen reaction to power an electric motor.

 

Similarly Honda has developed the Civic GX, an ultra-low-emission car
fuelled by compressed natural gas (the US Environmental Protection Agency
named it the cleanest internal combustion vehicle in the world).

 

If the will to adapt seems to be there, however, the rate of progress
remains slow. "It takes a very long time for new technology to work it way
into the transport system and to have an impact there," says Bjorn Stigson.
"Greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles are likely to continue rising
up to 2030 and for some time beyond that, especially in developing
countries."

 

More significantly, any measures to improve automotive sustainability have
to be balanced against hard economic realities.

The motor industry is fundamental to most national economies, generating
income and providing employment. In Brazil, for instance, it accounts for
almost 11 percent of GDP. In the U.S., according to WardsAuto.com, the
industry is worth $378 billion annually and, directly or indirectly, employs
one in every 10 people.

 

However urgent the need for change, neither governments nor companies are
going to sacrifice economic stability in order to achieve it.

 

PLANES, TRAINS AND SHIPS

 

The automotive sector is, and likely to remain for some while, the main
focus of attention for those concerned with promoting sustainable mobility.
The issue, however, and all its attendant dilemmas, is one that applies
across the entire transport spectrum.

 

The airline industry, for example, is, according to the IPCC, the fastest
growing source of global carbon emissions, its current 3 percent share
predicted to rise to 15 percent by 2050.

 

In an effort to address the problem aircraft manufacturers such as Boeing
and Airbus are experimenting with new fuel technologies, while the airlines
themselves are looking at making changes to operational procedures to try
and cut fuel use (shorter take-offs, for example).

More significantly, there have been increasing calls for the introduction of
a tax on aviation fuel (as a result of the Chicago Convention in 1944 the
sector has to date been exempt from such taxes). Jacques Barrot, the
incoming European Union Transport Commissioner, has indicated that such a
move is high on his agenda.

 

While there is a strong environmental argument for such a tax, however,
there is, as with the motor sector, a delicate balancing act to be performed
between the need to encourage sustainability and economic realities on the
ground.

 

"The aircraft industry is already in recession," says a representative from
the World Economic Form. "This year alone it is going to lose between $7-10
billion. With oil prices so high an additional fuel tax will cause many
companies to collapse."

 

Even the rail and shipping sectors, traditionally the least environmentally
damaging and least congestive modes of transport, are having to grapple with
the issue of sustainability, albeit in their own unique ways. Lack of
investment, for instance, is causing the railway system in many developing
countries to slowly collapse, with disastrous effects both for those
countries' economies, and for the safety of their citizens.

"Africa is by far the worst hit continent," says Steve Bennett, Associate
Editor of the International Railway Journal. "The governments just don't
have the money to put into the maintenance of infrastructure and rolling
stock, which means that people and goods can't move around, which means the
economy crumbles.

 

"In Zimbabwe, for instance, they don't even have enough fuel to run their
trains. Other countries are donating foodstuffs, but they can't transport it
to where it is needed."

 

The marine industry, meanwhile, is coming under increasing scrutiny because
of the contribution its sulphur-rich fuel is making to the formation of acid
rain. (In 2000, according to statistics from the European Environmental
Bureau, shipping in northern European waters released 2.6 million tonnes of
sulphur dioxide into the atmosphere, a figure that is expected to rise 3.3
million tonnes by 2010).

 

"It is clearly a problem," Professor David Fowler, an expert in
environmental sciences, said in a recent interview. "Until we control what's
going on in the ocean we are never going to be free of the blight of acid
rain."

 

WHAT NEXT?

 

Whatever the precise circumstances, sustainable mobility remains the key
challenge confronting the world of transport. And whatever the dilemmas,
conundrums and conflicts of interest it might involve, it is a challenge
that has to be met if people and goods are to continue moving throughout
21st Century.

 

As Eric Britton, founder of EcoPlan International, and originator of the
so-called New Mobility Agenda, bluntly puts it: "If governments and
industries don't get to grips with this, we are heading for disaster as
usual."

"By which I mean an already bad situation is just going to get a whole lot
worse."

 

 

ROAD

 

. In 2002 there were 787 million motor vehicles operating around the world,
of which 576 million were cars (Source: WardsAuto.com). 

. In 2003 60.3 million motor vehicles were manufactured, 41.8 million of
them cars (Source: WardsAuto.com). 

. The largest motor vehicle manufacturer is Detroit-based General Motors. It
employs 350,000 people worldwide and in 2003 sold 8.6 million cars and
trucks (Source: General Motors Corporation) 

. The world's largest car production plant is Volkswagen's Wolfsburg Factory
in Germany. It covers 1.5 million square metres and employs 47,800 people
(Source: CXO Media Inc.) 

. In 2002 motor vehicles emitted some 1.5 billion metric tonnes of carbon
dioxide into the atmosphere (Source: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change) 

. 1.2 million people are killed annually on the world's roads. Almost 50
million are left injured by road accidents (Source: World Health
Organisation) 

 

AIR

 

. Atlanta Hartsfield is the world's busiest airport, handling 76.9 million
passengers in 2003. London Heathrow is the busiest international airport,
handling 63.3 million passengers in 2003 (Source: Airwise News) 

. The world's busiest air route is between Tokyo and Sapporo. It handles
some 45 round trips daily (Source: www.geocities.com) 

. The largest motor vehicle manufacturer is Detroit-based General Motors. It
employs 350,000 people worldwide and in 2003 sold 8.6 million cars and
trucks (Source: General Motors Corporation) 

. The world's largest aircraft manufacturers are Chicago-based Boeing and
Toulouse-based Airbus. Although Airbus delivered more planes than Boeing in
2003 (305 to 281), Boeing's deliveries were worth more ($18 billion to
$17.5) (Source: Bloomberg) 

. The Airbus A380, due to come into operation in 2005/2006, will be the
world's largest commercial airliner, capable of carrying 555 passengers
(Source: The Sunday Times) 

 

RAIL

 

. The U.S. has the world's largest rail network, with 228,464 kms of track
(Source: CIA World Factbook) 

. The Indian rail network is the world's largest under single management
(63,140 kms of track). It is also the world's largest commercial employer,
with over 1.6 million employees (Source: The Guardian and CIA World
Factbook) 

. The Trans-Siberian railway from Moscow to Vladivostok is the world's
longest railway. It is 9288.2 kms (5,787 miles) long, passes through 87
cities and spans 8 time zones (Source: www.wordiq.com) 

. Sinjuku in Tokyo is the world's busiest station - Over 2 million
passengers use it daily (Source: BBC) 

. Moscow has the world's busiest Metro system, servicing 9 million
passengers daily, 3.2 billion annually. It also has the world's deepest
metro station - Park Pobedy, 90 metres below ground level (Source: BBC) 

 

SEA

 

. The world's largest ship is the supertanker Knock Nevis It is 458 metres
long, 69 metres wide and weighs 564,963 tonnes (Source: www.wordiq.com) 

. The world's largest passenger ship is the Queen Mary 2 - 345 metres long,
45 metres wide, 150,000 tonnes (Source: www.nationmaster.com and
www.cunard.com) 

. The world's busiest seaways are the Malacca Straits in the Southern
Hemisphere, and the English Channel in the Northern (Sources: UK Department
for Transport and CNN) 

. Singapore is the world's busiest port. In 2003 it was visited by 135,386
ships, with a total cargo of 347 million tonnes. Hong Kong is the world's
busiest container port. (Source: Singapore Maritime and Port Authority and
Hong Kong Shipper's Council) 

 

 

EXTERNAL LINKS

 

Centre for Sustainable Transportation - http://www.cstctd.org/

 

EcoPlan International - http://www.ecoplan.org

 

European Environmental Bureau - http://www.eeb.org/

 

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change - http://www.ipcc.ch/

 

International Railway Journal - http://www.railjournal.com/

 

New Mobility Agenda -  http://www.newmobility.org

 

Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) - 

http://www.oecd.org/home/

 

Wards Auto - http://www.wardsauto.com/

 

World Business Council for Sustainable Development -
http://www.wardsauto.com/

 

World Economic Forum - http://www.weforum.org/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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