23 January 2006Climate ArkWendy Frew
Road transport is costing Sydney $1.4 billion a year in greenhouse gas and other air pollution, with the city's heavy congestion exacerbating ill health and climate change.That is the conclusion of a report by the Centre for International Economics, which also found that over the next 15 years the annual cost of greenhouse gas emissions would rise by almost a third, to $187 million.The study, commissioned by the Herald, said the environmental and health damage from rising emissions would be shared by all Australians.In comparison, air pollution from the lead, nitrogen, sulfur and particulate matter emitted by motor vehicles would rise only slightly over that time, but the cost was far greater and would be felt directly by Sydney's residents.Research by the Bureau of Transport and Regional Economics found that pollution from cars might be prematurely killing as many as 2000 Australians each year and causing another 2000 asthma attacks.Children are particularly vulnerable because they inhale more air for their body weight than adults, but the elderly and the sick are also at risk.Sydney accounted for four out of 10 of the Australian deaths and illnesses caused by vehicle pollution each year, the centre's report found. It said the damage to health would cost Sydney $1.223 billion last year, rising to $1.228 billion in 2020 - a net rise of $5.1 million.The director of the Total Environment Centre, Jeff Angel, said the report dispelled the myth that car use was cheaper than public transport."The comparisons between road and rail are unbalanced because the costs of road - environment, health and associated economic costs - are not put into the equation," he said."The health effects of air pollution on the elderly, the young and those with respiratory problems have been an enduring problem for Sydney."Mr Angel said that even if emissions from cars were cleaned up, road congestion would remain a big problem."We can't just keep filling up the city with cars. At some point we must upgrade public transport."Domestic transport accounts for 14.4 per cent of Australia's total greenhouse gas emissions, and 88 per cent of that comes from road transport, compared with 2 per cent for rail transport, the centre's report found.Fuel consumption per vehicle under congested conditions was about double that under free-flowing conditions, and CO 2 emissions due accounted for 17 per cent of total emissions generated by domestic transport."Congestion in Sydney was estimated to generate an additional 4 million tonnes of CO 2 emissions every year," the report said."Based on a cost per tonne of CO 2 emitted of $10, this results in annual emissions costs due to Sydney congestion of $40 million."The Australian Government has invested in research to develop technology it hopes will reduce fuel-based emissions.
