Transport
TRANSPORT
| In 2008, transport accounted for 27.4% of all EU27 CO2 emissions, an important proportion of which comes from private car use in urban areas. Half of all journeys are less than 5km and could be either avoided or shifted towards more sustainable transport modes - public transport, rail, cycling or walking. |
According to the UN, the rail sector in Europe directly employs about 900,000, while the number of workers employed in manufacturing rail and tram locomotives and rolling stock has declined to 140,000. Sustainable transport policy must reverse this trend. The Greens actively promote the development of better and more sustainable modes of transport, particularly public transport. This includes favouring the development of rail over road links as part of the Trans European Transport Network. Light and heavy rail do not depend on oil and can potentially use renewables. There is also a need for greater and more sustainable investment in rail infrastructure. Public transport such as trams or rail is significantly less carbon and energy-intensive than cars (see table below).
The International Association of Public Transport estimates that 900,000 people were employed in this sector in the EU25. UNEP found that in Europe, investment in public transit has a multiplier effect of 2.5 and that intense focus on public transport, like in Switzerland, every direct job is linked to over 4 indirect jobs.
Energy use by urban transport mode
Transport Mode | Vehicle Production | Fuel Use | Total |
Light Rail | 0.7 | 1.4 | 2.1 |
Bus | 0.7 | 2.1 | 2.8 |
Heavy Rail | 0.9 | 1.9 | 2.8 |
Car (Gasoline) | 1.4 | 3.0 | 4.4 |
Car (Diesel) | 1.4 | 3.3 | 4.7 |
Results in megajoules/passenger-kilometre
CAR INDUSTRY
UNEP estimates that there are about 235,000 million employed in the manufacturing of 'green' cars. In its estimate, 'green vehicles' are based on passenger cars made in Europe, Japan, South Korea, and the United States emitting a maximum of 120 grams of CO2 per kilometre. Given travel by passenger car is usually not the most environmentally-friendly means of transport, it is open to debate what a 'green' car is or if it exists at all. The EU has set a CO2 emissions limit for cars of 95 grams/km by 2020, however the Greens wanted a stronger limit of 80 grams/km.
The number of jobs in 'green' vehicle manufacturing in those regions is relatively low compared to the total workforce (nearly 4,3 million). Conservative governments are currently allocating vast sums of money to ailing car manufacturers, often without imposing any environmental conditionality e.g. commitments to construct cleaner cars. Sustaining a 'sunset industry', rather than promoting these firms to adapt for the new market reality and demand for more efficient and less polluting cars, is an example of poor policy making. Scrapping programmes are a perfect example: under a new German scrappage scheme a consumer can scrap a perfectly functioning Volkswagen Lupo (one of the least polluting cars ever produced) and get 2,500 in public funds towards the purchase of a gas-guzzling SUV, like the Porsche Cayenne.
Governments should rather be implementing training and re-training programmes, vocational universities and community colleges to help workers in obsolete industries find secure jobs.
Fuel-efficiency, Carbon Limits and Green Jobs estimates in Vehicle Manufacturing
European Union | Japan | South Korea | United States | |
Passenger Car Manufacturing Workforce | 2,000,000 | 952,000 | 247,000 | 1,095,000 |
Share of vehicles emitting less than 120 grams of CO2 per km | 7,5% | 6,3% | 4,3% | n.a. |
Share of vehicles achieving 40 miles per gallon or more | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | 1,2% |
Jobs in Manufacturing "Green" Vehicles | 150,000 | 62,000 | 10,000 | 13,000 |
Source: UNEP (Sept 2008): 'Green jobs: towards decent work in a sustainable, low-carbon world'.
CAR SHARING and BICYCLES
The German Oko Institute suggests that a systematic expansion of car sharing could lead to 8,000 net-jobs being created by 2010 in Germany. If this were applied on an EU-wide basis, the number would near 50,000.
Cycling is one the cheapest, environmentally-friendly and efficient (faster than walking) ways to get around over short distances. Over 100 million bicycles are produced worldwide each year, half of them in China. There are not many statistics on employment in the biking industry. Policies promoting bicycle mobility vary greatly from city to city, suggesting that associated local employment also varies greatly. "Cycling" jobs also exist in rentals, sales as well as developing infrastructure like cycling lanes and paths. This also suggests that these jobs are very much local in nature.
