SC(3) CR-T4
Sustainability Committee
Inquiry into Carbon Reduction in Wales: Carbon Reduction by Transport
Response from the Chartered Institute of Logistic and Transport (UK) Wales Region (CILT (UK) Cymru)
This response represents the views of the Wales Region of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport in the UK — CILT(UK) Cymru. As a professional Institute, there are approximately 20,000 members throughout the UK with over 600 members in Wales.
General questions
1. Is the proposed 3 per cent annual reduction target by 2011 'in areas of devolved competence’ sufficient to enable Wales to make its full contribution to meeting UK-wide targets? If not what targets should be put in place?
2. Should the emission reduction target be based on WeIsh consumption, production or both?
To be truly sustainable, the reduction target needs to take into account both production and consumption. The increasing shift in manufacturing outside of Wales and the UK means that the country is, in effect, offshoring its CO2 emissions to other countries.
Transport specific questions
3. What particular challenges does Wales face in reducing carbon dioxide emissions from transport, and how can these challenges be overcome?
There are a number of challenges faced by Wales in reducing the CO2 emissions from transport. For a start, the Welsh Assembly does not have control over all transport policy decisions. Therefore, there is a constraint as to the amount of action the Assembly can take.
Another challenge is that Wales is more integrated with England and, particularly when it comes to freight movements, many of these cross between the two. Therefore, any decisions taken have the potential to affect the attractiveness of Wales, especially if they create different economic conditions when compared to England. Equally, any decisions should remember the important role of Wales as a landbridge between Ireland and England/Europe. While this traffic transits through the country, the movements help support employment in locations such as Fishguard / Pembroke Dock / Swansea and Mostyn / Holyhead. Again, any action needs to ensure the economic sustainability of these communities is maintained.
Further there has been a historic trend for the growth in transport (both passenger and freight) to be closely aligned to economic development. Therefore, as the Welsh economy grows, there will be a natural tendency for transport movement to increase. While there appears to be some decoupling at a UK level between freight volumes and economic growth, there are a number of underlying factors that affect this.
Finally, there is increasing penetration of the UK mad haulage market by foreign carriers. These often do not appear within national statistics and therefore could distort the CO2 emission figures.
4. Do the current transport policies of WAG give sufficient emphasis to carbon reduction?
Many of the key policy documents required from the Transport (Wales) Act (2006) have not yet been published in their final fomat. The consultation versions of both the Wales Transport Strategy and the Wales Freight Strategy indicate the need to take into account the environmental impact of transport. However, there is also an emphasis on ensuring social and economic sustainability Therefore, it is important that decisions on CO2 reduction do not adversely impact on this.
5. To what extent has the WAG been successful in utilising the powers available to it in order to reduce carbon dio4de emissions from transport?
A number of actions by the Welsh Assembly have been focussed on encouraging changes in personal transport. Examples include the free concessionary fares scheme and improvements to rail services in Wales. However, with many decisions taken either at UK or EU level, there is only a limit as to how much the Welsh Assembly can do.
6. . Could alternative targeting of WAG financial resources lead to greater reductions in transport emissions than is currently being achieved? If so, where could additional resources lead to greatest impact?
Funding by WAG in relation to transport appears to represent a balance between actions that will encourage a reduction in CO2 emissions and those that run counter to this objective. Positive actions include encouraging greater use of public transport and the Freight Best Practice programme while potentially negative actions include the North-South air link and increased road capacity without complementary demand management and land use decisions. Therefore, it could be argued that this investment could be better directed elsewhere. However, these actions need to be balanced against social and economic sustainability objectives.
Enhanced funding through a Smarter Choices package of marketing and behavioural change would bring significant reductions in car trips and distance traveled. Overall recent Personalised Travel Pilots have seen a reduction of 11% in car driver trips and 11% reduction in distance traveled by car (executive summary file attached PDF 677KB). The Stem report also identifies that behavioural change will be more effective in the short term at reducing CO2 emissions than in the long term.
Finally, WAG can direct funding to encourage major improvement in public transport product quality this would have a greater impact on modal shift than most other means and will probably be more popular than some of the sticks such as road pricing, congestion charge, etc, which will follow more naturally, later.
7. What examples from other administrations, where other means have been used to achieve reductions in transport carbon dioxide emissions, could be adopted in Wales under current powers?
The most obvious example is the London Congestion Charge which, in the short term at least, has delivered a reduction in the number of vehicles within the zone. However, this would perhaps only be suitable for certain places in Wales and would have to be supported by a step change in public transport provision so that alternatives were as competitive as they are in London.
Other examples of good practice include the freight consolidation centres at Heathrow Airport and in Bristol, which help reduce the number of delivery vehicles to these areas. As both of these have buy in from both government and local businesses, them is the potential for WAG to help support these initiatives.
The Smarter Choices scheme (http://www. dft. gov. uwpgr/sustainable/snarterchoices/) organised by the DIT is another example of good practice in changing people’s behaviour. It may be appropriate for WAG to identify demonstration towns where the principles can be applied (in the same way that Peterborough, Darlington and Worcester are in England).
8. In the context of the Government of Wales Act 2006 which further means of reducing carbon dioxide emissions from transport could only be achieved with the introduction of further legislative competence for the NAW?
Ultimately, reduction in CO2 emissions is likely to require a combination of 'carrots’ and 'sticks’. Many of the sticks are likely to need changes to the economic environment in which passenger and freight transport operates. While some aspects like congestion and trunk mad charging are possible, additional powers may be needed.
9.If specific carbon dioxide targets are to be set for Wales, should those targets be subdivided into shares by sector? If so, what share of the total should reductions by the transport sector comprise?
Setting targets by sector is not unreasonable, especially given that these emissions can be measured. However, it should also be recognised that any assessment should consider total emissions. Therefore, if Wales as a whole can reduce emissions by 3% per annum, it is perhaps less important that say, transport only achieves 1%. As commented earlier, many transport emissions are affected by a multitude of other factors, many of which are beyond the control of transport operators Therefore, it is important to keep a balanced perspective. As to a percentage share of the reductions, this should not be more than the proportion of emissions that transport currently contributes
