Today alone, 27 million tons of carbon dioxide will be emitted by the transport sector. Yes, just the transport sector. 95 million barrels of oil will be burned. 500 children will die in transport accidents. These are the figures given by the transport branch of GIZ, a prominent sustainability policy advisory and research firm.
The global transportation sector is not only responsible for ¼ of worldwide carbon dioxide emissions; it is also deeply flawed in terms of safety, efficiency, and longevity. While over 80% of UNFCCC parties’ NDCs (nationally determined contributions) cite transport as a priority issue, only around 60% of those NDCs provide an actual mitigation measure for transport. Even worse, only 10% of NDCs have an actual target for emissions reductions.
When considering emissions reductions in the transport sector, there are many difficult aspects to consider. First is the problem of sprawl. Many cities—especially American cities—are designed such that residential areas and business areas are quite distant from each other. This is true in Austin, whose downtown and major business centers are well separated from neighborhoods. Second, the prevalence of private cars creates traffic, which in turn creates more carbon emissions, as cars are running for a longer time. What’s more, the dominance of cars dissuades people from commuting on foot, because avoiding cars takes too much time; in Sydney, Australia, 50% of the time pedestrians spend walking to work is spent waiting at crosswalks for cars to pass. Third, there is a glaring lack of public transport in many American cities. (Austin is a major culprit in this aspect.)
So what’s to be done in order to provide for more transport efficiency? When it comes to city expansion or building, we must create upward, not outward. This decreases the need for mobility, which is ultimately the solution to the problem of high transport emissions. We must also increase the availability and variety of public transport in cities. Trams, buses, and better cycling and pedestrian routes have the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions massively, and while it will take work to implement such transport, it will pay for itself quickly, both financially and emissions-wise. As people with the luxury of mobility, we must also change our outlook on transport; we must not view it as being without consequences and environmental effects; we should use cars and transport wisely and efficiently.
Finally, countries (as well as regions, states, and cities) need to create tangible, specific targets for emissions reductions. Words are not enough. We must hold ourselves accountable for the consequences of the privilege of mobility that we enjoy. If nothing is done, we can expect to see a 3x-4x increase in demand for transport by 2050. At this moment, we must find the political and cultural will among ourselves to change our convenient habits. We carpool. We bike. We eliminate that unnecessary Target run. We use public transport whenever possible. We must look beyond ourselves and beyond our extreme comfort, putting first the health and longevity of all life on this planet.