Emission trading has recently been elevated to a major community
and business issue. The potential effects of such a scheme in
Australia are not well understood. This is particularly true for
the transport sector in general, and the rail sector in
particular.
In view of the forthcoming national Carbon Pollution Reduction
Scheme, it is imperative that the rail industry is aware of the
issues at hand and forms a well-informed policy position. With this
in mind, the CRC for Rail Innovation commissioned the
Emission Trading: Developing Rail Industry Foresight
Preliminary Report.
Key issues identified in the Preliminary Report include:
- In Australia, transport currently represents 14% of GHG
emissions (NGGI, 2005). It is also the second-fastest growing
source of emissions as a result of continued growth in car
transport. According to the NGGI, the rail sector is responsible
for 2.7% of the total emissions from transport, with the road
sector having the largest contribution with over 87%.
- Innovation has been dominated by incremental improvements to
existing fossil-fuel dependent technologies. Transport is also one
of the more expensive sectors in which to cut emissions because
low-carbon technologies tend to be expensive.
- Intense reduction in volumes of traffic in the transport sector
are likely to be more difficult in the shorter term, but will
ultimately be needed.
- Formal modelling of the overall impact of climate change in any
terms (economic, social or environmental) represents a formidable
challenge.
- Given that rail is widely acknowledged as a low-carbon form of
freight transport, it would seem logical that increasing use of
this mode should be encouraged as part of a country’s overall
plan to combat climate change (DPMC, 2007c).
