About you

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

 

Your opinion  

1.        Are the transport emissions reductions targets, policies and proposals (set out in Prosperity for All: A Low Carbon Wales) achievable and sufficiently ambitious?

Yes

1.1     Please outline your reasons for your answer to question 1

CILT Cymru believes these targets can be achieved, provided there is a consistent and dedicated application across the whole of the Welsh Government (WG), including effective measures to ensure that otherwise independent public bodies in Wales adopt and implement the necessary measures.

2.        Is the Welsh Government’s vision for the decarbonisation of transport sufficiently innovative, particularly in terms of advocating new technologies?

Partly

 

2.1   Please outline your reasons for your answer to question 2

 

It is impossible to answer ‘yes’ here as all kinds of new technology are currently under investigation. Moreover, it is logically impossible to predict future serendipitous developments, almost by definition! Therefore it will be important for WG to continue to ‘scan the horizons’, and not simply seek to implement their adopted strategies.

 

 

3.        What action is required, and by whom, to achieve the targets, policies and objectives?

 

It is essential that ALL departments of WG are actively involved. Clearly some will be more prominent, such as Transport and Planning. Many of these areas involve Local Authority decisions, in order to spend WG funds and implement WG policies; WG must ensure that all Local Authorities adhere to this overall objective.

 

Decisions in many areas other than the immediately obvious ones also impact heavily on travel and transport demand, and thus emissions. E.g. the construction of new hospital facilities ‘out of town’, or the location of Schools where land is cheapest. Sometimes policies will conflict e.g. the controversies over rural school closures usually focus on the viability of small schools, and the potential educational benefits of larger schools. The greatly increased school transport requirements are often only considered in terms of cash costs, and perhaps, in a more enlightened view, of impacts on children and local communities. However, the environmental consequences of substantial increases in pupil movements, and thus travel demand, are often largely overlooked.

 

4. How should the new Wales Transport Strategy reflect the actions needed to decarbonise transport?

 

The new Wales Transport Strategy should include specific words to ensure that ALL departments will implement the relevant policies. In the Planning field, where it is often impossible to rectify matters at a later stage, this will require careful drafting, and monitoring, to ensure that the aspirations of ‘Planning Policy Wales’ (10th edn, 2018) are actually achieved in practice

 

5. Do you have any other points you wish to raise within the scope of this inquiry?

 

The relevant Transport section in ‘Prosperity for All: A Low Carbon Wales (pp97-108) places a very heavy emphasis on Passenger transport issues. Whilst these are clearly important, it is also vitally important that Freight issues are not overlooked. These will include all stages and kinds of freight movement, from International shipping/rail (perhaps largely outside the potential control of WG) through rail and road trunk haulage down to local and ‘last mile delivery’ issues. All will require close attention. This is particularly relevant as, whilst success in the passenger field may well reduce the total volumes of traffic as well as introducing more sustainable vehicles etc., there is unlikely to be a significant reduction in the requirement for freight movements.

 

Passenger transport issues include not only the obvious reduction of emissions from the vehicles used but also changes in behaviour. These will include switches from private cars to public transport, but elimination of the need to travel can also make a considerable contribution.