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Supplementary memorandum from the Southwest branch of
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Since the Southwest branch of CILT submitted its evidence it has had the opportunity to study the following recent DfT documents: Low Carbon Transport: A Greener Future, published 15 July 2009 Britain's transport Infrastructure: Rail electrification, published 23 July 2009 Review of Low Carbon technologies for heavy goods vehicles, published 15 July 2009 Letter from the Department of transport dated 22 July 2009 giving the Department of Transport's response to transport aspects of the South West region's regional funding advice.
We believe the importance of the evidence we presented on 16 July is enhanced. 1 Low Carbon Transport: A Greener Future Low Carbon Transport: A Greener Future suggests that achieving the long-term (2050) greenhouse gas targets will rely on electric traction for road and rail transport. The paper recognises that "The energy sector will need to be decarbonised (for example through use of nuclear power, renewable energy such as wind, or capturing the CO2 created by burning fossil fuels) before we can reap the full benefits of greater electrification in transport." We are concerned that the transition to electric traction be closely coordinated with the elimination of undecarbonised coal fired generation. If coordination is not achieved carbon targets will be missed.
In the short term (to 2022), improved internal combustion engines are expected to be the primary means of reducing transport greenhouse gas emissions. The Southwest branch of CILT welcomes the measures proposed to encourage a shift to the use of better internal combustion engines. Our suggestion that Local Authorities consider how they can encourage the use of low emission vehicles (for example by parking preference) is responsive to this need. The Southwest branch of CILT believes that the potential for reducing travel needs in the Southwest is not sufficient to avoid the requirement for an increased programme of road building in the region. Low Carbon Transport: A Greener Future increases the need for such a programme and recognises the danger of unintended adverse consequences from measures to reduce the need for travel. For example it observes, "Research suggests that the carbon footprint of home-working is not always smaller than that of more traditional work practices.". Evidence from the Southwest branch of CILT expresses concerns that measures to reduce journeys, or to shorten journeys involved with manufacture, may increase other carbon costs (e.g. in manufacture or non-transport infrastructure) more than any carbon saving due to the reduced or shorter journeys. For example Low Carbon Transport: A Greener Future observes that: "Although increasing numbers of home deliveries have implications for the amount of vans travelling on our roads, these deliveries can be many times more efficient than car journeys." (presumably the car journeys intended are those that would fetch the goods if they were not delivered). Planning guidance referred to in section 4.8 of Low Carbon Transport: A Greener Future requires local authorities to take account of the "potential consequences for transport when making planning decisions", to "support sustainable travel options" and "reduce the need to travel by car" (see "Planning and Climate Change: Supplement to Planning Policy Statement 1"). These requirements are not sufficiently compatible. As discussed in our evidence in much of the South West, (as in the country as a whole), the car is the most sustainable travel option. Both the South West economic objectives and climate change objectives depend on improving road including car travel. We believe that documents such as the 2007 "Planning and Climate Change: Supplement to Planning Policy Statement 1 "require revision to the key planning objectives to encourage balanced judgements by local authorities and to facilitate 'joined up thinking' in responding to climate change. Without increased road building there will not be sufficient transport to exploit the economic capacity built by European and other public investment. The near-term climate change benefits of better internal combustion engines will be dissipated in congestion. Even the very long-term benefits of electrification of road and rail may be put at risk. 2 Britain's transport Infrastructure: Rail electrification This paper envisages achievement of rail
electrification as far as Swindon by 2016 and to 3 Review of Low Carbon technologies for heavy goods vehicles. 15 July 2009. We welcome this realistic and practical paper. Improvements concentrate on reducing carbon emissions by reducing goods vehicle rolling resistance. In our view, this action will make the elimination of road bottlenecks even more important in order to avoid the dissipation of rolling resistance benefits due to the increased energy use in stop start operation. 4 Transport aspects of Regional Funding Advice. The Department for Transport says, "Carbon emissions will become an increasingly important determinant of the transport choices we make. The work that regions have done on carbon in developing their RFA2 advice is a start, but it is clear that the evidence currently available is not sufficient to fully appraise the carbon impacts of schemes and programmes to the extent that the Department would like, nor in most cases are the carbon implications yet seen to be driving either the overall strategy or scheme prioritisation." CILT believes the issues it has raised will be an important part of moving toward a strategy and scheme priorities driven by carbon implications. Thorough auditing of the green house gas impact of schemes implemented between 2000 and 2011 and an analysis of the requirement for road improvements to support the actions envisaged in Low Carbon Transport: A Greener Future and Review of Low Carbon technologies for heavy goods vehicles will be a vital elements of the process.
9 July 2009
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