Transport

Transport accounts for around 14% of greenhouse gas emissions in Wales. Road transport is the greatest contributor, responsible for over 90% of emissions.

Figures by the WAG show that while more of us are driving than ever before, there is a downward trend in journeys made on foot and by bike.

The overall cost of motoring decreased by 17% between 1979 and 2008. During this same period the cost of travelling by bus has increased by 55%, and train by 49%.

Unless action is taken, carbon emissions in transport are expected to continue to rise. Road traffic is predicted to increase by 31% by 2025 and air travel by 200% by 2030.

In this sector, the growth of aviation is the biggest challenge we face.

Aviation is expanding rapidly. Between 1980 and 2006 air travel in the UK increased by 300%. Passenger growth at Cardiff International Airport in the ten years to 2002 was 9.8% per annum - greater than the UK regional average.

In terms of our carbon footprint, flying is the single most destructive activity we can undertake as individuals. The climate impacts associated with air transport have been well documented. They are more severe than the same emissions at ground level, because of the impact of water vapours at altitude.

But our appetite for flying is unlikely to diminish without government intervention.

According to the Environmental Audit Committee, by 2050 aviation will account for at least one quarter of the UK economy's "entire capacity to emit carbon".

The demand for flying appears to be affected by the cost of flying. Yet the WAG continues to subsidise a twice-daily air service between south and north Wales.

Our Assembly Members themselves commute to meetings by plane, failing to rely on the video-conferencing technology they endorse in their Climate Change Strategy.

The WAG claims that air routes "play a significant role in providing international connectivity for tourism and business". It is now working on improving links to Cardiff International Airport and other airports serving Wales.

Green groups argue that this focus on aviation calls into serious question the government's commitment to sustainability.

Road traffic is the fastest growing source of C02 in Wales.

It is difficult to see how we can become a truly sustainable nation with the current enthusiasm for road building.

The Gwent Levels Motorway proposal has been dropped for the time being, after 18 years of divided opinion. The WAG was also forced to ditch its proposal for a seven-lane highway in Flintshire after a public inquiry threw it out.

Yet the 2008 Transport Strategy - the first comprehensive strategy of its kind for Wales, which will influence the shape of our transport communications for decades to come - makes it clear that in future we can expect roads, roads, and more roads.

The strategy aims to "improve the road links between North, West and South". It states that in rural areas "priority should be given to making roads more reliable". And "in places with significant traffic volume, new capacity may be required".

The government's own advisors know that an increase in road capacity leads to an overall increase in traffic.

WAG is currently funding the largest highway construction scheme in the UK, the Church Village bypass near Pontypridd. This has been budgeted at £90 million - almost a fifth of the transport budget for 2008/9.

And some analysts are also wondering why the Transport Strategy does not once mention the challenges posed by Peak Oil. These oil-dependent policies may no longer be valid in the future.

The number of people using buses has increased since 2002, when WAG introduced free bus passes for the elderly and the disabled. This has contributed to a reversal of the long term decline of the bus industry.

Transport Minister Ieuan Wyn Jones AM also intends to improve the all-Wales TrawsCambria bus network and to introduce an express rail service between north and south Wales

But a radical improvement of the railway network is not on the agenda.

Transport experts and local authorities claim that less than one third of transport funding in Wales is spent on sustainable transport. In Scotland, this figure stands at 70%.

According to the Commission for Integrated Transport - which advises the UK Government - economic development is at the heart of transport policy and is prioritised over sustainability.

Sustrans points out that in Wales, most car journeys are local: 60% of car trips are less than five miles and around 25% are less than 2 miles. It says that if the government simply provided more information on existing alternatives to the private car, there could be reductions in car use of up to 12%.

At the moment there are only five travel co-ordinators in Wales whose role is to provide us with this crucial information.

Sustrans also points out that for £15 million, which it claims is less than the cost of building half a mile of motorway, its TravelSmart behavioural change programme could be rolled-out across large towns and cities in Wales.

This could achieve a 1% reduction in C02 emissions per annum from all transport.

Friends of the Earth has called for the successful congestion charging programme in London to be replicated in cities and towns in Wales.

The recent reduction in road traffic has been attributed to the recession. It could be argued that the economic downturn is currently doing more for sustainable travel than any WAG initiative.

Written by environmentalist Angharad Penrhyn Jones.

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