Unlike many of the measures proposed by many nations and the business lobby today which see technology as the answer to reducing greenhouse emission reductions, the focus of this initiative is not on technology but behavioural change designed to get people out of their cars and onto their bikes or simply walk more and limit car use for essential travel. It is a measure that can be implemented with immediate effect at minimal cost. A growing number of cities are doing this in Europe and it has popular support. It is a no brainer and we should be doing it here.
Quoting extensively from the report by Angela Charlton and Jeffrey Schaeffer in The Age 7th October 2021, the latest city to do this is Paris which already had a 30kph limit on about 60% of the city but will extend this to all of the city with the exception of a few main thoroughfares where a 50kph limit will apply.
Other French cities with a 30 kph limit include Bordeaux, Strasbourg and Toulouse, but it is becoming more common elsewhere in Europe. Brussels imposed a 30kph limit on much of the city earlier this year and about 80% of Berlin’s streets have the same rule. Madrid has had speed curbs on most of the city centre since 2018 with a nationwide rule in Spain this year putting a 30kph limit on all one-way urban roads. Similar restrictions apply in residential Amsterdam and the city is proposing to expand this to larger roads.
It is almost certain this trend will continue at an escalating rate – not just in Europe but elsewhere reinforcing the environmental imperative which was clearly stated at our last forum ie to travel less, less often and more efficiently and to focus on behavioural change as the principal lever for reducing greenhouse emissions. This imperative applies to Australian cities and towns so it is time our politicians showed political courage and implement similar measures. This will require sophisticated strategies for managing the transition but it is critical these be developed as part of a comprehensive plan to reduce greenhouse emissions and implement it as a matter of urgency. It will require a fundamental change in government mindset however and the abandonment of many of the big build infrastructure projects being pursued by this government and other policies which continue to promote car use and car dependence instead of reducing it.
Some may argue that Australian cities are different – less densely populated and more spread out requiring longer distances to work and essential services, and pin their hopes on electric vehicles. Unfortunately the reliance on technology and EV’s in particular as discussed in an earlier blog is a false hope. It is necessary to include the energy impacts for the entire life of the vehicle – extraction and processing of raw materials, its manufacture etc as well as its use, maintenance and disposal at the end of its life. On this basis the footprint for an EV is no better than a conventional petrol driven car, and this assumes the electric power required for charging the vehicle comes from renewable sources – which in the case of Victoria is not the case and will take many years to achieve.
Whilst there will be opportunities to improve the environmental footprint of these vehicles, this will take time and even if this was achieved the ability to replace the existing fleet and the capacity of the community to afford it by 2030 is highly improbable. This means we have no choice but to change our behaviour. The 1973 OPEC oil crisis demonstrated that dramatic changes can be achieved when communities and nations are confronted with a crisis. Some of these responses will be discussed in our next blog. Private travel is only part of the transport task however and in some ways is the easiest to address. The challenges confronting freight and essential services to achieve zero emissions are much more difficult and more critical.