Slashing emissions starts with transport

Cutting transport emissions is crucial to reaching Australia’s 2050 net-zero goal. In 2024, Australian transport emissions are still growing and are expected to be our biggest emitter by 2030.

While consumer interest in electric vehicles is helpful in reducing gas emissions, it alone will not be enough to reach Australia’s net-zero target.

Dr Robin Smit, Adjunct Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at UTS, conducted research into the concept of “mode shift” – a term used to encompass shifting passengers and freight to more sustainable modes of transport including electric rail and shipping.

In his research, Smit used the Inland Rail project as a case study to explore the potential impacts of shifts between land-based transport, shipping and aviation. Using statistical modelling, Dr Robin Smit factored in a wide range of variables from winds and currents to “slow steaming” and radiative forcing effect. Modelling the impacts of transport modes was complex, country-specific and subject to change over time.

Rail and shipping have unused potential in Australia

Despite many variables, Dr Robin Smit’s research found clear, sustainable alternatives for passenger and freight transport.

Electric rail is the clear winner for the land transport mode with the lowest emissions intensity (the amount of greenhouse gas produced per kilometre travelled) for both passengers and freight. When including air and sea transport, electric rail and shipping have the lowest emissions. Air transport is the obvious loser, with significantly higher emissions, particularly for freight.

With such evident findings, Dr Robin Smit argues that governments should promote mode shift for environmental reasons, helping Australia get one step closer to net zero in a timely fashion.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article here.