Institution of Highways and Transportation (NI Branch) -
Submission on Climate Change to the Northern Ireland Assembly Environment Committee
The Northern Ireland Branch of the Institution of Highways & Transportation (IHT) welcomes the opportunity to contribute to the NI Assembly Environment Committee Inquiry into Climate Change.
We note that the Aim of the Inquiry is initially to understand the implications of climate change for Northern Ireland. While we recognise that there is ongoing debate and scientific study into trends in ‘climate change’ locally and globally, we believe that it is not appropriate to ignore the issues which may be contributing to those trends, actual or perceived. We also note the Committee’s wish to make recommendations on government policies to mitigate the impacts, to examine economic implications and identify suitable adaptation initiatives.
The Institution of Highways & Transportation is a learned society with over 11,500 members. It is concerned specifically with the planning, design, construction, maintenance and operation of land-based transport systems and infrastructure.
IHT recognises that for transportation professionals the increase in the demand for transport represents a major challenge at a time when society is beginning to acknowledge and come to terms with the global impact of ‘climate change’. For that reason, in November 2008, it published ‘Climate Change and Sustainable Transport – the challenge for transport professionals’ to contribute to professional practice and to assist all disciplines involved in the transport sector to address the consequential impacts of climate change. Our contribution to the Inquiry is based around the advice within this publication couched in terms of Northern Ireland’s unique position within the United Kingdom. A copy of the Executive Summary and the full document are attached.
Climate Change and Sustainable Transport
Long-term road transport, powered by fossil fuel, is not sustainable. It is contributing to the depletion of a finite stock of fossil fuel and emitting a rising amount of carbon dioxide. There is a need to address environmental impacts such as noxious emissions, noise and unsustainable land development that cause extended journey patterns. The transition to a sustainable transport system involves a combination of technological and transport demand policies.
However we accept for the needs of society and the economy of Northern Ireland good road infrastructure is essential to serve the transport needs of the community for the short to medium term.
We are alert to scientific evidence that has linked global warming with the increasing emission of greenhouse gases, with much of the increase in developed countries coming from transport. The fact that emissions from transport are increasing whilst emissions from other sectors are constant or reducing is of particular relevance for the UK where transport related emissions represent about a quarter of the total produced .
We also recognise the importance of a high performing transport system to the economic prosperity of the UK, and the key role of Northern Ireland’s strategic links to the rest of the UK and to other European and world markets and destinations.
The Stern Review into the economics of climate change confirmed that emissions have been, and continue to be, driven by economic growth. Stern estimates that the costs of reducing the emission of green house gases are substantially less than the costs of repairing the damage caused by climate change.
Whether we believe in climate change or not, if we do nothing we may find that it will not be possible to turn back the clock and recover the lost opportunities of acting now.
Emissions and transport
Emission of anthropomorphic greenhouse gases has raised the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere from around 280 ppm before the industrial revolution to 383 ppm in 2007. In the last century the global average temperature has increased by about 0.9°C and the average temperature in central England by about 1.4°C . Emission of carbon dioxide is rising in many countries, though in EU27 it is falling.
In the United Kingdom, production of public electricity and heat is responsible for 31% of total emissions of CO2; all transport produces 23% of emissions, and car traffic 12.7% in 2005. Industry, households and services each produce about 15% of total emissions.
Emission of carbon dioxide from all car traffic was almost constant between 1993 and 2003, and is now falling. This implies that the fuel economy of the average car in service is improving faster than traffic is growing. Carbon dioxide emissions from road traffic are growing, but this growth is due to growing emissions from freight transport.
1. Managing Demand
Planning Policies
It is essential that planning polices and residential standards are reviewed to ensure they work with, rather than against, integrated transport where it can serve new developments. Sustaining integrated urban and suburban living patterns will become even more of a priority as fuel prices increase.
Reducing the need to travel will not be just an environmentalist objective, but it will become one necessitated by daily and weekly household budgeting. It will play an increasing role in choices about where to buy a house or where to seek work.
It is essential that reviews of the RDS and RTS provide for on-going strategic assessment of infrastructure and resource needs and take account of climate change, peak oil and the sustainable transport.
Policies must be strengthened to require c ontributions which can secure wider sustainable transport infrastructure for cyclists, pedestrians and complementary pump priming for bus service enhancements.
Demand for travel can be affected by measures that rely on persuasion and by measures that deter travel in a variety of ways. Provided attractive alternatives to the car are available, soft measures can be more effective than is appreciated by most transport planners.
The Retail Sector and Freight Transportation
Retail activity has changed over the past 20 years and retailers are continuing to adapt to the changing demands of consumers as technology advances, lifestyles change and as local and national government policies are changed and introduced. Key drivers for successful retailing are accessibility and consumer choice. Transport therefore plays a significant role either directly or indirectly in the future success of retailing and policies should reflect this.
Current trends suggest that e-shopping will become increasingly popular over the coming years, and while this may not reduce the number of trips to be made, it may change the type of trips that are made, with greater numbers of home deliveries.
In the UK, agriculture and food accounts for nearly 30% of goods transported by road and food miles rose by 15% between 1992 and 2002. In 2002, food transport accounted for 25% of all HGV vehicle kilometres in the UK. Of imported produce, 95% of the fruit and 50% of the vegetables sold in the UK is grown abroad and the amount of food being flown into the UK doubled in the 1990s. The direct environmental, social and economic costs of food transport are over £9 billion each year and are dominated by congestion.
In addition to the reliance factor of UK imported produce, the wider implications of the unsustainable transportation impact need to be addressed at local, national and global levels..
In the planning and assessment of proposed new retail and shopping outlets, which includes the establishment of Farmer’s Markets, a priority should be given to the accessibility and servicing by sustainable forms of transport such as good public transport, walking and cycling links with appropriate facilities.
The introduction of effective traffic and parking management policies and improvements to public transport could improve the accessibility of town centres. If implemented effectively, travel around urban areas should be more efficient for consumers and thus potentially make the urban centres increasingly accessible. It is important to understand the value that consumers place upon time and that congestion is a major factor in influencing the time taken to access retail facilities.
Northern Ireland is almost 100% dependant on road transport for the movement of freight. Fuel consumption by road freight has increased because the total mileage by goods vehicles has increased. The fastest growth has been for light vans, followed by articulated HGVs; traffic by rigid HGVs has not increased. Fuel consumption of individual HGVs has not increased, and remains steady at about 7 or 8 miles per gallon.
Freight distribution is a wholly commercial activity. The cost of fuel in 2008 was about 30% of the cost of freight operations, so anything that can be done at a reasonable price to reduce the amount of fuel used will be done for commercial reasons.
The total mileage by vans has increased because of the steady increase in the economic activities served by vans - courier services, mail and online shopping, visits by service engineers and tradesmen of all kinds. About a quarter of the total tonnage of UK domestic road freight are goods travelling to or from ports as imports or exports. Empty running of HGVs for particular commodities has reduced slightly, particularly for the movement of manufactured goods and petrol, but the changes are small.
Reducing the distances that goods are moved would require major changes in the supply chains and manufacturing processes that are served by road freight. This is not impossible, although supply chains, distribution arrangements and depot locations have been optimised, and the disincentives to change them are great.
Improved operation management leading to the better utilisation of goods vehicles can reduce empty and part-loaded running.
While pilot projects in the food distribution industry in GB have shown that long-distance road freight can be transferred to rail for the trunk stage of a journey, the restricted rail network in Ireland limits the opportunities although we recommend that opportunities should be kept under review.
2. Changing Behaviour
Travel Behaviour and Effectiveness of Smarter Choices
Since the realisation that the philosophy of ‘predict and provide’, to keep pace with traffic growth, was not sustainable, a healthy awareness by transport professionals has emerged to consider alternative strategies and apply innovative measures to manage demand. The need to change travel choice behaviour to achieve sustainable objectives and project the existence of convenient, affordable and healthier acceptable alternative options is a priority. The provision of such options, timely information about travel opportunities, better marketing, advertising and good implementation initiatives have long been advocated by transport professionals. It is therefore considered appropriate for transport professionals to take the initiative, where possible, to engage with society to establish and promote such communication schemes.
While personal travel planning projects have demonstrated effective outcomes based upon area-wide approaches, there is a long-term opportunity to support this work by building upon existing networks and communication channels. Appropriate opportunities to target people would include during life-changing moments, when individuals may be most likely to deliberate about travel behaviour and break established habits. These could include when moving house or school, applying for a new job, obtaining an over-60 public transport pass and changes in public transport provision.
Travel plans should be developed to deal with different types of situations including school, hospital, residential and commercial business travel plans to mitigate the impact of new developments on local traffic and infrastructure to improve accessibility. Such schemes are considered essential particularly for new developments and implemented using the guidance provided by DfT.
Accessibility and Social Equity
The Promotion of Walking and Cycling Journeys
Walking and cycling have strong contributions to make in creating sustainable places, increasing accessibility, enhancing neighbourhood cohesion, improving individual fitness and well-being, and reducing the environmental impact of transport.
Survey findings found that around a third of people would walk and cycle more if the facilities on offer were improved. Hence, improvements of facilities that would encourage walkers and cyclists, such as safe walking routes, better maintained footpaths, off road cycle lanes and the provision of better bicycle parking facilities might encourage more people to cycle and walk.
Measures to promote and develop walking and cycling should take high priority for investment in the urban transport hierarchy. Walking and cycling can result in significant savings in relation to health, pollution and congestion and strongly contributes to creating sustainable places, increasing accessibility and enhancing neighbourhood cohesion.
Better use of Existing Networks
To facilitate and achieve better use of existing networks has been a particular objective since the realisation that the philosophy of ‘predict and provide’ for traffic growth was unsustainable.
The agenda must now extend from reducing congestion to the complementary and real need to secure greater benefits to reduce the impact of climate change. Innovative measures must be pursued with consideration of Traffic Demand Measures first, ahead of hard infrastructure solutions.
Better use of existing transport networks can also be achieved by the promotion of publicity campaigns to affect more efficient use of motorways by targeting driver behaviour for improvements in lane discipline.
Public Transport Quality, Accessibility and Integration
It is accepted that public transport cannot be a substitute for many journeys – particularly those in less built-up and rural areas with diverse origins and destinations. As pressure increases for more sustainable transport, whether this arises from reduced availability and increasing cost of fossil fuels or from policies such as carbon rationing to limit climate change, then public transport will have an increasingly crucial role to play. This is particularly important in delivering accessibility in many of our communities. We should therefore be striving for a high volume, high quality public transport network that meets the needs of discerning customers, if we are to meet the challenges of future mobility.
The quality and quantity of public transport can be genuinely enhanced with greater innovation, thought and challenge. Public transport should therefore sit at the heart of local transport policy and practice.
If more people are to be persuaded to travel by public transport from choice, it is essential that the quality of service, the provision of information, ease and simplicity of use will need to outweigh the quality and comfort standards supplied by car manufacturers.
Treating people with dignity and respect is a key aspect of a fair and just society and it is important that transport operators treat their staff well, in terms of recruitment, training and promotion. It will also be an advantage if transport staff treat passengers with respect and similarly help and expect passengers to show similar courtesy.
Road User Charging and Parking Demand Management
Road User Charging is not a new concept but the delivery of such an approach remains controversial at both the local and national level. Charging schemes have the ability to influence choices of travel, aiming to reduce demand on the existing highway network, and improving the environment. It can also provide valuable revenue for the promotion and development of alternative modes. If they are to be successful, action needs to be taken towards promoting the positive aspects of schemes, counteracting the opinions generated through negative press coverage.
Car parking demand management measures have the possibility to significantly influence modal choice, but care needs to be given in particular to the migration of congestion to other areas. As with road user charging, parking control measures can also provide revenue support for improving access to public transport. It is therefore also considered important to ensure that these positive aspects of schemes are promoted to gain acceptance from travellers.
Road user charging has an important role to play in an integrated and equitable transport network with particular reference to urban areas. However, the arguments to promote such schemes need to be well prepared and that the benefits in terms of reduced congestion, CO2 emissions, and improved public transport services are clearly demonstratable
3. Technology and Safety
Vehicle Efficiency and Alternative Fuels
The fuel economy of cars has improved by about 24% since 1997, and there is no reason this improvement for cars will not continue. The fuel consumption of the car fleet, including 4 x 4s and MPVs, is reported to have only improved by 6% since 1993, although this is inconsistent with the slight fall in the total fuel used by cars since 1993, despite a 15% increase in car traffic. One reason for the relatively small reported improvement is the fashion for using large, heavy, bluff four-wheel drive vehicles on normal roads, as these have poor fuel consumption.
The fuel consumption of goods vehicles is being reduced, but the scope for savings is less than for cars.
Alternative electric propulsion is in an early stage, mainly because of the need for development of better batteries or fuel cells. Road transport must ultimately move to electric propulsion, but this will only reduce carbon emissions when electricity generation becomes much less carbon intensive.
The benefits of alternative fuels, other than hydrogen, which is in a very early stage of development, are marginal, with only small reductions in carbon emissions and possible adverse impacts on land-use and food production. However, even if the first generation of bio-fuels are not sustainable and probably release as much or more carbon over their life-cycle as conventional fuels, the second-generation fuels are expected to achieve a significant improvement in their life-cycle carbon emissions and result in a net benefit.
Driver training has been shown to achieve a 10% reduction in fuel consumption (SAFED, a one-day course on Safe and Fuel Efficient Driving has been shown to produce a typical reduction in fuel consumption of 10%).
Alternative electric propulsion is in an early development stage, mainly because of the need for development of better batteries or fuel cells, but should be considered for urban area use. Road transport must ultimately move to electric propulsion but this will only reduce carbon emissions when electricity generation becomes much less carbon intensive.
The description of Bio-fuels as a single category is over-simplistic. Some bio-fuels offer real savings in carbon emissions over the complete fuel cycle with few adverse environmental effects. Others offer little or no saving in carbon emissions and have large effects on land use and food production. It is necessary to assess the benefits of different bio-fuels separately and promote those that are truly sustainable.
Changes required in Engineering Design Standards and Material Specification
The response to the impact of severe meteorological events must be high on the agenda for engineers and highway professionals, but they must also address the wider causes of climate change.
The need to reduce the demand on natural resources where possible and particularly that of finite stocks of fossil fuels must also be seen as an important objective. Such uses of asphalt, bitumen and tar binders in pavement construction represent important materials for specification review. This includes both the search for alternative suitable materials and the maintenance of progress in the use of recycling in pavement construction. Industry has been well aware of the need to address whole-life costing.
The key issues of higher temperatures and drought with associated events of flooding, wind and storm requires a review of infrastructure design approaches to safety, durability, and sustainability in order to prepare for these forecast changes and resultant ‘severe’ conditions projected for the UK.
Considerations should include the early identification of high-risk infrastructure with particular reference to public safety. Highway and transport authorities need to consider such severe events and their impact on road pavements, permanent ways, bridges, culvert, embankments and earth retaining structures.
Design criteria for future infrastructure developments should consider how to withstand such forecast severe events. This would include the use of sub-pavement reservoirs below car parks, storm overflow culverts below estate road networks and using urban roads as shallow canals in flood risk areas.
The implications for drainage systems and design assessments indicate a clear need to audit current facilities against such event forecasts. Although current Environment Agency guidance suggests an allowance for Climate Change of 20% contingency, the possibility of 30% should also be considered.
The impact of climate change, with global warming on pavement design and materials specification is also an essential consideration. This includes the higher expected temperatures and its effect on asphalt and concrete layer performance and higher moisture content due to increase in water table level and higher density storm events.
Asphalt mix modification such as aggregate grading, voids content and binder content can be considered to optimise the design for whole pavement life. For example, in France, cold, hot, wet and dry climatic conditions are considered according to project location. Materials specifications and practice exist in other parts of the world that can inform materials choices for the future conditions expected for the UK.
Safety
While this Inquiry is related to Climate Change we believe that regard must not be lost for the safety of those using the transport network and all proposals that affect transport performance must to ensure that publicity and education programmes continue to promote safer driving techniques and emphasise the reasons for it
4. Administration and Finance
The current economic outlook with uncertain housing market conditions, lack of liquidity, fuel and commodity price inflation suggests that a prudent approach to budget and medium term financial planning is necessary. In view of the trends being identified in global warming and climate change and the irreversible damage that will occur if insufficient or inappropriate action is taken, bold decisions are required on investment in policies and measures that will sustainably address and slow down or reverse trends.
Fiscal Instruments on Road Transport
Although the increasing cost of fuel tends to increase the perception that the costs of motoring have increased significantly, the reality is somewhat different. Should fuel costs stabilise, it is likely that any short-term behaviour change will lose momentum. It is considered that a direct tax measure on purchase or on circulation would have a much stronger and longer-lasting influence.
In assessing the application of motoring taxation, the evidence indicates that in real terms the cost of motoring has fallen significantly over the last 20 years. It is well behind the overall increase in the cost of living over the same period and it could be argued that there is an obvious opportunity to mitigate the environmental impact of motoring through fiscal instruments. However, based on recent experience, there is also a clear responsibility for transport professional advisers and decision makers, to use all the available evidence, to effect better understanding, need and acceptance of such action.
This is particularly important at a time when society is beginning to assess the global impact of ‘climate change’, with growing road usage, congestion and casualties from road collisions already being seen as unsustainable.
In future, fiscal instruments will need to cover a range of national, local and sector-specific measures to promote fuel economy and innovative clean fuels. These measures are currently progressing but in order to achieve maximum benefits, their progress should be accelerated. Such action is currently gathering pace but progress needs to be stronger.
Additional measures, which will complement integrated transport policies, should consider the introduction of locally targeted fiscal measures including Workplace Parking Levies, Business Improvement Districts or changing the basis of calculating Domestic and Business rates. These could be weighted to fiscally favour accessible locations and so counterbalance potential effects of road user charge in such places.
It may also be beneficial to promote and achieve sustainable travel benefits through the introduction of tax exemptions and reforms, favouring accessible locations that reduce travel demands and using more environmentally friendly travel modes. Some measures have already attracted very limited tax concessions using Travel Plans, but much more could be achieved in adopting this approach.
5. Alternative energy sources
As global fossil fuel sources become further depleted the need to replace them with sustainable sources becomes more urgent. Electricity has been a base energy source for many decades but in NI has been largely dependant on fossil fuels although the interconnector to GB means that some of NI’s electricity consumption is met by nuclear generation. It may be years before NI’s road based transport can be refocused on an electric based or other sustainable fuel system. The use of fossil fuels for much of our energy demand must be replaced by development of alternative and sustainable fuel sources.
NI, with extensive rural countryside, long coastline and situation on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean, is well placed to develop alternative power sources. Generation from wind and water as well as managed cultivation of crops for bio fuels or as fuel for power generation plants must be facilitated by sensitive but clear planning policies and economic support packages.
As waste disposal is also a major transportation and environmental problem for Ireland generally, careful consideration must be given to establishing strategic power and heat generation plants fuelled by waste.
6. Conclusions
Highways and transportation professionals recognise that their industry has an impact on the environment, on society and on the performance of the economy and seek to minimise and mitigate the negative impacts while maximising the positive impacts.
The IHT believes that it is essential for Ireland, both North and South, to become more self sufficient in energy as an economic and climate change priority.
Freight movement, on which much of our economy depends, is totally road based within NI. If transport impacts on the environment and climate are to be minimised there needs to be an ongoing investment in both transport infrastructure and transport technology to ensure efficient and sustainable movement of goods and people.
Most importantly there is need for behavioural change. The climate change message needs to be clearly communicated to the public and in particular the a general public duty to adapt and mitigate the impact of their desire to travel. Many areas including energy and water saving, waste recycling, and and promotion of alternative modes of transport all should be part of the behaviour change agenda. Leadership and commitment from business and political leaders is required. Potentially unpopular decisions will have to be taken if unsustainable trends are to be reversed.
The investment to date in transport must now be underpinned by the RDS and RTS reviews to ensure continued and sustainable economic benefit. IHT supports the investment in Public transport set out in the BMTP and reinforced by the DRD Minister’s public announcements. A high quality integrated public transport system for the Belfast urban area will offer an alternative to car travel and, with the help of investment in park and ride sites and demand management measures ,encourage the public to use public transport and so reduce CO2 emissions.
Road user charging/pricing has potential to contribute to a reduction in CO2 emissions and must be fully reinvestigated. Money raised should be "ring fenced” for investment in public transport. 60% of people in the GB prefer Road User Charging to car tax. ( ICE ) Pricing at "point of use" tackles congestion and CO2 emissions ( IHT )
Failure to maintain our road infrastructure to serviceable standards will be a significant issue in terms of sustainability. Poor road conditions slows traffic, creates unsafe conditions and damages vehicles, all of which increases costs on the economy. Reconstruction of our roads following failure, as opposed to resurfacing requires more materials, fuel etc and could have a significant detrimental impact on our environment.
Greater priority needs to be given to development of sustainable renewable energy sources in Ireland. Development of wind energy sites which is an established source, is essential and will require strategic planning and bold decisions.