Flying has received a lot of attention from the media over the last few months. Here are some facts to keep in mind when thinking about flying in terms of greenhouse gas emissions.
Currently, domestic aviation accounts for around 5.1 Mt (almost 1%) of total Australian greenhouse gas emissions. The contribution from domestic aviation to total emissions is predicted to increase to just over 1% by 2020 (8.7 Mt).
As...
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When working to improve transport systems, it is paramount (for the achievement of the greater sustainable super-system in which we live) that ‘transport disadvantage’ is tackled as part and parcel of the mix of complex components. The achievement of economic and social wellbeing is highly vulnerable to transport disadvantage or transport exclusion.
There...
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The Garnaut Review was established to examine the impacts of climate change on Australia’s economic sectors. They have recently released a series of discussion papers plus an Interim Report...
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The Garnaut Climate Change Review Group's long-awaited Emissions Trading Scheme Discussion Paper...
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The ABC has put together an excellent series of documentaries on...
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A carbon offset provider directory has recently been released as a website: Carbon Offset Guide Australia....
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Over the last few weeks more reports and studies have been released which suggest that biofuels aren’t as bio-positive as some promoters advertise – that is, they have a significant environmental impact.
A recently released OECD report...
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I have recently become a trial member of the carshare group GoGet. As I don’t own a car, and occasionally require one for personal use, I thought a carshare membership might...
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In 1970, there were around 200 million cars in the world; by 2006 that number had increased to 850 million. What’s more, by 2030 this 2006 figure is expected to double (Worldwatch Institute)....
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Another wave of carbon-control issues has hit the popular media: debate over the nature of the future carbon emissions trading scheme, credibility and accountability of carbon offset projects, the debate over future energy sources. It is important not to gloss over the inclusion of, and implications for, the transport sector in these debates.
The...
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The city of Portland, Oregon in the US can boast some fantastic transport figures.
Over the last 10 years public transport use has increased by 65%; a predicted 40% increase in congestion has been avoided; cycling has increased by 257% due in part to cycling facilities, including dedicated cycle lanes throughout the city. Portland is also eradicating over 62 million car trips a year (right in the world’s most car dependent county).
So,...
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Figures released in early June 2007 announce that Toyota has now sold more than 1 million hybrid vehicles worldwide....
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A story out this week refers to a survey conducted by Easy Being Green to assess the willingness or otherwise of Australians to pay to offset their...
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The latest IPCC report suggests...
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The benefits of using biofuels (biodiesel and ethanol) over conventional petrol and diesel have come under question recently. Our previous blogs on the question of the environmental benefits of biofuels and whether ethanol...
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I recently went to a seminar, organised by the University of Sydney’s Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies, on rewarding instead of charging road users. The seminar was...
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‘The vigorous man (woman) industriously striving for the improvement of his (her) condition acts neither more nor less than the lethargic man (woman) who sluggishly takes things as they come. For to do nothing and to be idle are also action, they too determine the course of events.’ (Ludwig von Mises)....
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On 6 April the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released the Assessment Report of Working Group II (WGII). The Report comes...
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You may have noticed American President George W. Bush in the news lately, discussing how corn-derived ethanol is going to save America from its need for foreign oil. Recently, George W has...
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Greater investment in environmentally friendly technologies is needed if Australia’s automotive industry is to compete with emerging economies such as China, South America and Eastern Europe. This is according to KPMG’s automotive partner David Gelb, speaking after KPMG released its annual global automotive survey...
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The upcoming state election in New South Wales on 24 March has brought a number of topics to the forefront of political agendas. An important issue for Sydneysiders is water. With the current drought, low dam levels and continuing water restrictions people want to know what will happen if the water runs out.
One...
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Dr Graeme Pearman, partnered with State governments, is currently travelling around Australia delivering presentations on the IPCC’s Fourth Assessment Report. ...
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Both the NSW Minister for the Environment, The Hon. Bob Debus, and the Shadow Minister for the Environment, Michael Richardson, have put forward a diverse mix of environmental promises which...
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As you may have noticed, there has been a lot of political talk and media focus lately on the topic of global warming and climate change. With transport contributing 14% of Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions, governments and businesses are looking for cleaner, ‘greener’ alternative fuels to help reduce emissions released from vehicles.
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The growing availability of emissions offset schemes to the everyday consumer is testament to the fact that more and more people are concerned about their carbon footprint. The latest organisation to offer such a scheme to it’s customers is Bendigo Bank, as seen in Environmental Management News...
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'Climate change' and 'global warming' are phrases that have been buzzing about in the media, on the bus and at the dinner table with more and more frequency and intensity. This has been one catalyst for serious political attention being given to the important economic, environmental and social problem...
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The Senate Standing Committee on Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport produced its final report on ‘Australia’s future oil supply and alternative transport fuels’ last week.
Since the publication of the interim report in September 2006, the Committee has changed its view that measures should be put in place to encourage natural gas to be swiftly taken up as a transport fuel. Reasons for this relate to the wider use of gas for transport and include incompatibility with most of the transport fleet, requirement of large on-board storage leading to a reduction in payload, a slow return on investments and possible resistance by consumers due to limited range and a lack of clear price savings in relation to conventional fuels. By far the largest barrier to the uptake of natural gas appears to be the lack of refuelling infrastructure.
The...
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Government and industry forecasts predict that the amount of freight moved by road is likely to double between 2000 and 2020 – just as it did between 1980 and 2000. The Australian heavy vehicle industry suggests that this will result in the addition of approximately 50,000 heavy trucks to the national fleet between 2005 and 2020 – 28,000 of them being semi-trailers and B-doubles (TIC/CVIAQ 2004, Trucks to meet the future road freight task: Challenges and directions).
One...
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On Friday 2 February 2007, the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its fourth Assessment Report – the fourth six-yearly snapshot of the global greenhouse issue.
The report of Working Group 1...
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A quick check of the Australian Greenhouse Office website reveals that even though we are driving around in the hybrid Prius - there's lots more we could be doing as transport consumers to reduce our greenhouse emissions. It's easy to get into the mindset of thinking that driving a hybrid car is enough...
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While much of the national and international debate about strategies to reduce greenhouse emissions are predominantly focused on the need to contain emissions from stationary energy generation (i.e. coal-fired electricity generation), this is not the only sector that needs to be tackled if we are truly...
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Rising oil prices and concern about Australia’s oil self sufficiency has prompted vigorous community debate about the potential of alternative fuels to not only meet our future fuel demands but also deliver environmental benefits.
A recent media story...
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The newest member of our company household is a Toyota Prius, that we took delivery of about 8 weeks ago. We were initially attracted to it because of the hybrid engine technology...
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We often get asked about the potential for hydrogen fuel cells to be used as an alternative energy source for vehicles, and last week's article in BusinessWeek about the development of a hydrogen powered motorcycle...
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