Reducing transport emissions: Models of changeHarriet Williams,

JMG Foundation

Environmental Funders Network

“Everyone talks about the weather, but no one does anything about it”

Mark Twain

Philanthropic response to climate change Where The Green Grants Went – analysis of UK

funding Covered 176 trusts in the 2004/05 financial year Environmental grants totalled £33.6 million – just

1.6% of UK trust giving (in US ca. 5%) Of this less than 10% directed towards climate

change – much of the funding is for conservation Climate change grants amounted to less than 0.2% of

UK trust giving in total Very few grants to EU level work

Problems with road transport

Road transport 20% of EU carbon emissions, majority from passenger cars

Average person travels 36km per day – 27km of that by car

Noise, air pollution, accidents and land take Car-dependent societies Social justice dimension (including access to

non-car alternatives, health impacts)

Origins of road transport emissions

Three major components: Energy efficiency of road vehicles Total distance travelled by vehicle fleet Carbon-intensity of transport fuel

The blame game

Shifting of responsibility between government, business and consumers

Automakers call for ‘integrated approach’ to share burden of fuel economy regulation

Higher oil prices = end of ‘green dream’? Unhelpful current paradigms: “Consumers don’t

want clean cars”; “War on the motorist” Decisive action by national and EU governments

needed to clean up road transport. But where is the popular mandate for doing so?

So what should we do? Where can funders ‘add value’? Need to rapidly expand range of actions that are

politically feasible and attractive to government E.g. boosting fuel economy, reducing car-

dependency Models of change: Where power lies, obstacles to

change, ways of tackling vested interests Build wider movement from below, comprising ‘non-

environmental’ publics to raise political costs of inaction

Aim for change at system level not symptom level

Pressure points: Fuel efficiencyGovernment

ConsumersBusiness

EU regs: 120g by 2012EU regs: 120g by 2012

Consumer psychologyConsumer psychologyFuel savings

AdvertisingAdvertising

TechnnologyTechnnology

Fleet Fleet procurementprocurement

Climate change

Energy security

Competitiveness/jobs

Fuel/vehicle taxFuel/vehicle taxLobbyingLobbying

Choice/personal freedom

So what should we do?

1.EU regulation of car CO2 Highly politicised – showdown between France and

Germany Build ‘broad church’ to counter industry lobbying2.Car advertising Good platform from which to question what

consumers really want and need in a car3. Incremental technology gains Off-the-shelf rather than in the future

= Focus on EU gov, industry lobbying and advertising

Pressure points: Travel behaviourGovernment

ConsumersBusiness

Public transportPublic transport

Fuel/vehicle taxFuel/vehicle tax

Consumer psychologyConsumer psychologyHealth/quality of life

AdvertisingAdvertising

Teleconf./flexi-timeTeleconf./flexi-time

Parking Parking availabilityavailability

Climate change

Traffic congestion

Choice/personal freedom

Road-buildingRoad-building

Land-use Land-use planningplanning

Car clubs etc.Car clubs etc.

Psychology of travel behaviour: A microcosm of climate can(‘t) do

‘If everyone made journeys of less than one kilometre on foot rather than by car we’d save millions of barrels of oil!’

What is wrong with this statement: Who is all this energy saving for? Where is the benefit at individual level? What if ‘everyone’ else doesn’t do it? What if I want to drive to the shop?

So what should we do?

1.Make it ‘sexy’ to take the bus New discourses of choice/freedom: ‘I have a

dream’ not ‘I have a nightmare’

2.Reduce need to travel Land-use planning – ever the Cinderella of

reducing transport emissions

= Focus on national/local gov, consumer psychology, alternatives to travel

For more informationEnvironmental NGOs• Transport & Environment • Friends of the Earth Europe • Greenpeace International• Centre for Transport and Energy (Czech Rep.)• BUND (Germany)Academic centres• Transport Mistra (Sweden)• Centre for Transport and Society (UWE)• Centre for Transport Policy (Aberdeen Business School)

For more information

Funder initiatives on climate change Climate Change Philanthropy Network (CCPAN) Climate and Energy Funders Network (US) Forests Philanthropy Action Network Design to Win collaboration European Climate Foundation

Thank you for listening