Which state is leading the charge with reducing their transport-related emissions? A new report from the Climate Council tells all.
In their latest report entitled Are we there yet? Clean Transport Scorecard tracks each State and Territory, Climate Council compares progress across Australia’s states and territories with respect to decarbonising the transport system.
Transport accounts for 18.7 percent of Australia’s total emissions, the majority of which come from cars and light commercial vehicles. So keeping tabs on our decarbonisation efforts is extremely important.
So which states are leading the way? In terms of overall reductions, Tasmania and the ACT are out in front.
In the past 10 years, Tasmania has reduced its overall transport-related emissions by a noble 18 percent, and the ACT have cut theirs by seven percent. These states also have the lowest transport emissions per capita.
Some notable mentions are South Australia and Victoria, who have cut their emissions by five and one percent, respectively. All other states have increased their transport emissions.
So what is the solution? Among many of the recommendations listed in their report, Climate Councils suggest that “States and territories should set targets for the percentage of trips they want to shift to active and public transport, and invest at least 50 percent of their transport budgets in public transport, plus 20 percent in essential active transport infrastructure, like walking and bike lanes.”
You can read the Climate Council’s full report here.