Sustainability Committee

Inquiry into Carbon Reduction in Wales: Carbon Reduction by Transport

Response from the South West Wales Integrated Transport Consortium (SWWITCH)

Background

The South West Wales Integrated Transport Consortium (SWWITCH) comprises the four local authorities in south west Wales, namely Carmarthenshire County Council, Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council, Pembrokeshire County Council and the City and County of Swansea.

SWWITCH was formed in 1998 in recognition of the need to work collaboratively to improve access and transport and thus facilitate economic development and improved quality of life. SWWITCH has evolved over the years and is now headed by a formal Joint Committee. The Committee meets quarterly and includes elected Members from each of the authorities along with key stakeholders including:

Transport providers,
Representatives for transport users,
Economic/business representatives
Environmental group representatives, and
The Welsh Assembly Government

The Regional Transport Plan

The Welsh Assembly Government have developed and consulted on a draft Wales Transport Strategy. The final version is expected to be issued early in 2008. The Assembly requires the four transport consortia in Wales to develop Regional Transport Plans (RTPs) which will help to deliver the outcomes set out in the Wales Transport Strategy. The RTPs must include a long term strategy and a 5 year programme of transport projects. Specific guidance has been issued to consortia on the development of the RTPs and they are subject to Strategic Environmental Assessment, designed to ensure the highest level consideration of the environmental impacts of the plan outcomes.

The timescale for the submission of the RTPs is not finalised at present, but the evolving RTP for south west Wales has adopted objectives and key priorities for the region, all of which include careful consideration of the impact of transport on greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants(see Appendix A attached).

Carbon Reduction in SWWITCH

The environment is clearly important in south west Wales, it makes a substantial contribution to the regional economy through tourism and sports and it makes the region an attractive place to live and work in. There is also a responsibility on the current generation to ensure future generations can enjoy the same environmental benefits and that the diversity of plant and animal life is not permanently damaged.

The Environment is considered throughout the RTP process not only as part of the Strategic Environmental Assessment, but also because it makes sense to protect what is such a precious asset.

However, it is fair to say that the main thrust of the RTP is about facilitating a growing and sustainable economy. That is seen by our stakeholders as being the most important issue and clearly there are potential conflicts between growing an economy and protecting the environment. This applies at both planning and transport levels within local Councils and consortia. Where an opportunity arises (for development or a transport project) which is likely to make an improvement to the economy, through jobs, new business etc, the most likely scenario is that any environmental impacts will be mitigated as far as possible, but that the primary thrust will be to secure the investment and stimulate the economy.

It has always been difficult to separate economic development from greater movement/transport and addressing this potentially "carbon increasing” economic development bias requires good collaboration between those responsible for planning and transport at a national, regional and local government level. It also requires a national planning policy framework (like Planning Policy Wales) with more "teeth”, than present policies provide.

General questions

1.Is the proposed 3% annual reduction target by 2011 'in areas of devolved competence’ sufficient to enable Wales to makes its full contribution to meeting UK wide targets? If not what targets should be put in place? SWWITCH Response - It is difficult to judge at this stage with conflicting arguments and future projections the matter of debate. However, it is not the level of targets which is the key issue, but whether the UK Government or the devolved administrations can met the targets.

2. Should the emission reduction target be based on Welsh consumption, production or both? SWWITCH Response - The emission reduction target needs to be based on both production and consumption. To address one without the other is not in itself sustainable.

Transport Questions

3. What particular challenges does Wales face in reducing carbon dioxide emissions from transport, and how can these challenges be overcome? SWWITCH Response - Wales is more car dependent that the UK as a whole for a variety of reasons related to geography, social and economic factors. However, Wales does not have control over many of the elements which could significantly impact on carbon dioxide emissions for example expansion of airports and services, fuel and road taxes, vehicle construction and use regulations, driving standards, Freight industry, national road charging schemes etc.

Because of this there is the danger that whatever happens in Wales is essentially at the margins of activity and focuses more on a hearts and minds approach to persuading people to think and act differently. This is important, but it also needs to be backed up with some sticks to support the carrots. It is going to be very difficult for the Assembly to take the bold steps to be more proactive in encouraging more sustainable travel, particularly when the Welsh economy is still struggling to catch up with many areas of England. But it needs to be driven forward by the Assembly to make it work and funding for a range of projects needs to follow the policy imperative.

4. Do the current transport policies of WAG give sufficient emphasis to carbon reduction? SWWITCH Response - As we are currently awaiting the final version of the Wales Transport Strategy and then the subsequent National Transport Plan and other critical documents such as the Trunk Road Forward Programme, it is difficult to be clear. The draft Strategy placed emphasis on the importance of the strategy and the Regional Transport Plans helping to achieve higher level aspirations including those set out in the Wales Environment Strategy. However, in attempting to recognise the diversity across Wales and thus the range of transport and access problems and solutions, the draft strategy provides a great deal of flexibility, to the extent that a consortia proposing new road build (with the inherent increase in capacity and thus emissions) is as acceptable as one proposing road capacity re- allocation to buses or cycling (with subsequent carbon emission reductions).

In addition, specific policies, including the decision to provide subsidy to Intra Wales air service, seem contrary to carbon reduction policies. Conversely the Assembly has adopted a Smarter Choices agenda at the strategic level (which has potential to reduce short, unnecessary car journeys), but seems to lack the political will to move from strategy to practical application.

The Assembly also needs to look "beyond the transport box” in terms of carbon reduction to include those who plan for other public services such as health, social services, housing and education. The decisions made on the location of services and facilities in these portfolios have an enormous potential impact on the demand for transport. The Assembly must require other divisions to work with transport planners to reduce the transport impacts of their decisions. This could include the requirement for agencies to use Accessibility Planning techniques and packages to map out the impact of a range of decisions.

5. To what extent has the WAG been successful in utilising the powers available to it in order to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from transport? SWWITCH Response - WAG has introduced some tools such as free concessionary travel, investment in long distance buses, and rail service improvements. However, WAG has only limited transport powers in respect of carbon emissions (as set out in 3 above). WAG can make the most difference by the way they invest in transport (see Q 6 below), by strengthening Planning policy and by requiring public service providers to consider the impact on transport of their locational decisions.

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? SWWITCH Response - Certainly resources could be better targeted to lead to greater reductions, but this would have to be weighed against potentially short to medium term economic impacts. For example a large proportion of current transport funding is directed towards new roads. If this money were instead targeted at effective maintenance to improve the reliability of the current network and also to promoting more sustainable travel choices through investment in public transport, Sustainable Towns projects, walking and cycling, Wales could achieve a significant long term reduction in carbon emissions. There would inevitably be strong opposition from freight businesses and other economic representatives and the key question for the Assembly is as always the balance between the economy and the environment.

There is also a need for a better balance between the scale of capital funding for the big infrastructure schemes and the capital and revenue funding required to support more sustainable transport like public transport and smarter choices initiatives such as Personal Travel Planning.

Also if more resources aimed at encouraging investment and entrepreneurship was predicated on sustainable locations (already sustainable and not with simply the potential to become) for start ups or expansions, there would be a reduction in the rate of traffic growth.

7. What examples from other administrations where other means have been used to achieve reduction ins transport carbon dioxide emissions, could be adopted in Wales under current powers? SWWITCH Response - The Sustainable Towns projects in England, developed through Challenge funding, have demonstrated significant transport behavioural change is possible with relatively low levels of investment. This should be developed in Wales as soon as possible. The announcement on a sustainable towns initiative in Wales although welcome, appears more of a token gesture than a fundamental element of the Wales Transport Strategy.

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? SWWITCH Response - As set out in Q3 above there are a range of primary legislative areas which have a huge impact on transport choices and behaviour which NAW does not have (and seems unlikely to achieve in the short term) competence over. The fastest growing sources of carbon emissions relate to air services and vans and lorries, NAW has no control over measures to address these.

9. if specific carbon dioxide targets at 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? SWWITCH Response - Dividing the targets by sector will help to make sure each sector knows exactly what they have to achieve, but it creates the danger of some areas with huge potential underplaying their contribution simply because they have already "done their bit” whilst other sectors may well face considerably greater effort and expense to meet their share of the target. The Stern Report clarified how difficult the transport sector was to tackle and indeed recommended it was likely to be a long term process because of the potential impact on the economy and personal life styles. If targets are set by sector the transport target should acknowledge this.

Objectives for the south west Wales Regional Transport Plan

To improve access to employment, business opportunities and tourism to support the sustainable growth of the regional economy.
To improve access to education and training to facilitate increasing skill levels in south west Wales
To improve access to health care to support a healthier south west Wales population.
To improve the range and quality of, and awareness about, sustainable transport options to improve health and fitness
To improve the efficiency, reliability and sustainability of the movement of people and freight within and beyond south west Wales
To improve integration between policies, service provision and modes of transport in south west Wales.
To implement measures which make a positive contribution to improving air quality and reducing the impact of transport on ill health and Climate Change.
To implement measures which help to reduce the negative impact of transport across the region on the natural and built environment
To improve road safety and personal security in south west Wales.

Regional Transport Plan Key Priorities

Improving access to jobs and business opportunities to help the local economy to prosper, including addressing congestion issues in urban areas and at pinch points in networks.
Promoting social inclusion through better partnership working to facilitate improved access to a range of services and activities including health, education and leisure.
Improving the quality, affordability and awareness of public transport, walking, cycling and car sharing
Making the movement of people and freight more sustainable, safer and more secure, reliable and efficient