Sunday, July 13, 2008

Freight emissions set to double by 2020: report

By environment reporter Sarah Clarke

ABC News Online, Posted 6 hours 19 minutes ago
Updated 6 hours 11 minutes ago

New figures reveal carbon emissions from the freight transport sector in Australia are set to increase by 100 per cent by 2020.

The figures prepared for the Federal Government reveal the growth in pollution from freight vehicles exceeds that produced by transport used for personal travel.

The sector measures emissions from trucks, trains, aviation, shipping and commercial vehicles.

Jeff Angel from the Total Environment Centre says it is clear the freight sector needs to put in place a carbon reduction plan.

"The freight sector has an increasingly important role to play and people are going to be increasingly looking at the carbon footprint of the products they buy," he said.

"It needs a plan to tackle the carbon intensity of the kilometres it injects into the transport of freight around Australia. It must reduce its emissions.

"It can look at increased efficiency of vehicles and operations, it can switch to lesser intensive, carbon intensive fuels."

The figures reveal air freight is the most emissions intensive, and rail produces the least amount of greenhouse gases.

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