Transportation is needed to move goods and people between different locations. For example, to transport food and other goods between and within different countries, to move both students and materials to and from the country’s schools, so that we can greet each other, go on holiday and get to see and experience new places and cultures.
Significantly increasing transport
Transport has increased significantly over the past century, from one kilometer per person per day in the early 1900s to over 40 kilometers today. The way we travel has also changed during history from mostly taking place by rail, sailboats and horses to being dominated by cars, fast boats and aircraft.
Transport of people and goods today accounts for a large chunk of our energy use and the car is amongst the most common means of transport. Road traffic accounts for most of the energy use from transport in Sweden (93 per cent), of which passenger car traffic accounts for over 60 percent.
The traffic contributes to a number of environmental problems, including hazardous air, noise, eutrophication and acidification. Added to this are effects such as intrusion into nature, creation of barriers in the landscape, accidents, stress and congestion in our cities. It is a dilemma that the transport system that is of great benefit to us at the same time is one of the biggest environmental threats.
Many of the transports devour lots of fossil energy, such as those by car, airplane or truck, resulting in large emissions of carbon dioxide that amplify the greenhouse effect. The transport sector accounts for 13 percent of greenhouse gas emissions globally. The oil dependency also leads to the risk of oil spills on land and at sea and to other hazardous emissions.
Transport accounts for a large chunk greenhouse gas emissions. All in all, this means that the share of transport in total emissions will be increased. However, this means that the transport sector is one of the areas where we have the greatest opportunity to reduce emissions.
How can transport be more sustainable?
Transport can be more sustainable and environmentally friendly in a number of ways. By choosing the most energy-efficient mode of transport, environmentally friendly fuels, energy efficiency and avoiding unnecessary transport.
Change the mode of transport
One way to make transport more sustainable is to change the mode of transport to one that is more energy-efficient, for example by train, bicycle or walking instead of driving. In Sweden, every other car ride is actually under five kilometers – a distance short enough for cycling.
Traveling by bus or train is usually much smarter than driving a car. Buses and trains require a lot of energy, but so many people can fit in every bus or train. The best thing for both the climate and the environment is to get to your own machine by walking or cycling, or why not ride roller skates, kicks, skateboard or kickbike? It’s fun, exercise and fresh air all at once!
There are many ways to make it easier for people to choose energy-smart modes of transport. Building more motorways is a step in the wrong direction – more roads give more traffic. Instead, safe and agile pedestrian and bicycle lanes and public transport with many stops are needed, so that it is about as easy to walk to the bus stop as to the car.
One solution could be bicycle rental at the train stations, so that those who visit can choose a bicycle instead of a taxi. Another solution is to make it cheaper to take the train than to fly abroad, so that people are encouraged to choose the climate-smart alternative.
Replace fuel
Most of today’s cars get their energy from fossil fuels like gasoline or diesel, which gives high emissions of carbon dioxide. Airplanes are powered by fossil fuels, which have a significant impact on the climate. It becomes extra powerful as emissions occur at high altitudes.
Existing transport becomes more sustainable if the fuel can go from fossil to renewable – for example by switching from petrol car to electric car or by developing biofuels to aircraft.
Countries that have green electricity has a lower climate impact than the average for electricity in the EU, where electricity produced with fossil fuels is worse for the environment. Trains generally provide energy-efficient transport and have an extremely low climate impact, particularly with electricity that comes from less environmentally harmful production.
A decisive factor in achieving a fuel change is that it becomes cheaper and easier to choose renewable fuels instead of fossil fuels. For example, more electric car chargers are needed, so that those who drive a little longer can replenish with electricity along the way. Maybe there should also be charging stations for electric bikes? Aircraft fuel is nowadays very cheap, which is because the fuel user does not have to pay for the pollution it causes. By having the polluter pay for the pollution, the motivation to use clean, renewable fuels increases.
Energy Streamline
It is also possible to improve energy efficiency in transport, for example by having smaller cars, cars with more fuel-efficient engines and by switching to electric cars. Electric cars require considerably less energy than petrol cars, for example, since a large part of the gasoline is heated instead of moving.
Another way is to fill up cars, buses and trains with more passengers, thus reducing transport work and emissions per person traveling. We can also start going more people in the car, as most of the time, we are only one person in the car.
Avoid unnecessary transport
Aviation is a real energy thief, whose global greenhouse gas emissions are increasing significantly as we fly more and more. A Thailand trip provides nearly 2.5 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per person, which is more than what each person may release per year in the future if we are to achieve the climate goals. Therefore, it is worth to see if it is possible to take a train or bus on holiday, or to vacation closer to home.Another way that is easy to forget is to pull down on transport that is not needed. For example, maybe you can have travel-free meetings online or by phone instead of going every time?
Goods transport
Buying goods and food produced locally reduces the need for transport. This is good because it is a waste of energy to drive goods back and forth between regions and countries unnecessarily.
At the same time, transport is often only a small part of a product’s total environmental impact. This is because after all, it is much more energy-efficient to ship many things at the same time. Therefore, it is often more important to think about the choice of products, and how they are produced, than how far they have traveled.
Nevertheless, there is much to be done to reduce emissions from the global transport of goods. It is important to reduce the distance that each product travels, for example by avoiding unnecessary detours, but it is also important to review the way in which all things are moved.
Today, for example, about half of what we put on the plate comes from other countries. What we import most is fish, fruits and vegetables. Often these are products that cannot grow in norther parts of the world, such as the bananas that we import each year from primarily South America. But we also transport a lot here that we could grow ourselves.
Almost all clothes we buy are also imported. A large proportion of the clothing has been manufactured in China, Turkey, Pakistan and India, and thus has traveled a long way before landing in the store. It is not uncommon for a garment to go through a chain of transport of over 15 steps to be grown, woven, dyed, sewn, distributed and sold. In addition, the different production steps can take place in different countries.
The vast majority of goods transport takes place by sea (90 percent), which is a relatively energy-efficient way of transporting gadgets, but in order to reduce emissions, it is crucial that fossil fuel can be replaced by renewable fuels.
Many fruits and vegetables, with a short shelf life, are transported by air or in refrigerated transport. This gives a high climate impact and it is smarter to choose fruits and vegetables produced near or transported by boat instead. The transport on the roads also needs to be reduced, for example by transporting more goods by rail or by loading more in each truck (increasing the filling rate).
Finally, it is important to remember that transporting home from the store is absolutely crucial. Often the journey to and from the shop, which is often done by car, is the step in the transport chain that emits the most carbon dioxide!
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