Context
In 2011, China’s transport sector generated around 628 million metric tons of CO2, equivalent to 7.8 per cent of all energy-related emissions (Germany, 2011: 149 million metric tons of CO2). Over 100 million passenger cars were registered in China in 2013, with more than 35,000 new registrations each day. The total volume of freight transport is rising rapidly: from 13.6 billion metric tons in 2000 to 45 billion in 2013. The rise in traffic and vehicle ownership is resulting in high levels of air pollution, traffic jams and noise, particularly in towns and cities. If further action is not taken, the negative impacts from this sector will continue to increase.
China has made an international commitment to reduce its carbon intensity by 40 to 45 per cent by 2020 as compared with 2005 levels. Within its 12th Five-Year Plan, China set the intermediate target of reducing carbon intensity by 17 per cent between 2010 and 2015. Absolute emission targets are also being discussed for the first time for the 13th Five-Year Plan. Action is needed first and foremost in the areas of urban and goods transport.
In order to counteract the negative impacts of growing demand for mobility in towns and cities, public passenger transport networks have been massively expanded, and restrictive regulations (for instance driving bans and permit restrictions) have been introduced. Initial testing is being carried out on financial regulative mechanisms such as parking and congestion fees. Increasingly, however, cities lack the funds they need to expand and maintain sustainable urban transport systems.
Within the goods transport sector, emission reductions can be primarily achieved through cooperation between forwarding agents to increase capacity utilisation and through optimisation of routes. Replacing and improving automotive technologies as well as optimising fleet management and driving practices can also contribute to greater efficiency.
Objective
Decision-makers in relevant government authorities have strategies for low carbon development of China’s transport sector and for exploiting potential energy savings to reduce CO2 emissions.
Approach
The project supports Sino-German policy dialogue on climate change mitigation strategies in the transport sector with a focus on both urban and freight transport. The policy dialogue is further enhanced by the establishment of an international council of experts, which facilitates the exchange of experiences and intensive advisory support all the way to the department manager and vice ministerial level.
At the core of the project is the exploitation of potential energy savings. The partners are advised on the development of a set of assessment instruments for modelling low carbon transport development scenarios at national level as well as modelling emissions generated by urban and freight transport. This enables reliable calculations of greenhouse gas emissions generated by transportation activities. Calculations are being performed that provide an impetus for strategy development in addition to quantifying the success from implementing activities and strategies.
The piloting of policies and measures related to transport efficiency and to standards and thresholds for the use of technologies provides urban and private sector actors with information about mitigation options, and demonstrates their feasibility. These measures thus directly contribute to the development and implementation of robust climate change mitigation strategies.