Elements of a
Sustainable Transport System
Many of the most destructive road,
high-speed rail and airport projects that
make up the Trans-European Networks for
transport (see article this issue) are
being funded by the European Investment
Bank (EIB). At a meeting of this Bank in
February, FoEI’s Jim Barnes delivered a
series of recommendations for a more
sustainable transport system for
Europe.
A crucial first step is to correctly
understand what a truly "sustainable"
transport system consists of in meeting the
public's needs for access to jobs,
education, information, goods and leisure
in a balanced way. Friends of the Earth
argues that the system should include the
following characteristics:
-
It does not endanger public
health.
-
It responds to public demand and the
public's right to a high level of
environmental quality, including clean
air, clean and sufficient water, and
appropriate levels of noise (including
silence).
-
It does not degrade wildlife habitats
and protected areas, but instead
incorporates the values of protecting
biodiversity and nature as key design
considerations.
-
Its emissions do not exceed the
assimilative capacity of the environment,
measured at local, regional and global
levels. In the latter case, planetary
needs in terms of reducing greenhouse
gases must be taken fully into account as
well as the specific legal obligations of
the European Union and CEE countries
under the Kyoto Protocol.
-
The "Polluter Pays" principle is made
functionally effective by ensuring that
"externalities" are fully costed and then
incorporated into every aspect of
decision making, from evaluation to
implementation
Friends of the Earth recommends that a
Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment
(SEIA) of the transport sector be carried
out for the entire European region, in
order to know whether certain transport
investments make sense or not. This would
also allow a better balancing of investment
among various modes of transport -
including choices between high-speed rail
and upgrading conventional lines, and new
motorways versus upgrading and properly
maintaining regular roads.
Air-Fuel Tax
Aviation has the highest CO2 intensity
among transportation options. Most aviation
fuels are presently not taxed or are taxed
very low in comparison with other fuels.
This most polluting form of transport also
receives many forms of government
subsidies. Partly because of these hidden
subsidies and the absence of taxation as
compared to other fuels, air traffic is
increasing very rapidly -- too rapidly --
putting strains on the entire system and
raising the risk of accidents. Getting
prices "right" is a key aspect of
longer-term sustainability.
The by-products of burning kerosene in
airplane engines include CO2 and NOx. The
present contribution to the greenhouse
effect is estimated to be between 3.5 and 8
percent, while air traffic contributes at
least 1 percent to depletion of the ozone
layer. As a consequence of the enormous
growth in air traffic and the development
of a new generation of supersonic
airplanes, the total contribution of air
traffic to the greenhouse effect will
almost double in the next 15 years, while
its impacts on ozone layer depletion also
could increase dramatically.
For the full text of this presentation
to the EIB, contact Jim Barnes,
jbarnes@wanadoo.fr.
