Getting off the greenhouse gas: Public transport’s potential contribution in Australian cities

Abstract

Australians are one of the world’s highest per capita emitters of greenhouse gases, yet the country’s target for emissions reductions by 2030 remains modest. This paper looks at policy options for Australian cities to deliver faster transport emissions reductions than the national commitment level. The main focus is on an accelerated reduction in emissions from urban road transport, through technological improvements and behaviour changes. Targets are proposed for improved emissions intensities, to bring Australia much closer to US and EU performance expectations. A range of behaviour change measures is then tested on Melbourne and Sydney, the Sydney analysis using MetroScan-TI, an integrated evaluation framework, to explore how behaviour changes might enhance emissions outcomes. The potential contribution of public transport is a particular focus. The paper concludes that, with sufficient political will, Australia could reduce its 2030 road transport emissions to 40% below 2005 levels. This is a much larger reduction than the current 26-28% Australian emissions but is more consistent with longer-term pathways to acceptable carbon budgets.