The volume of emissions from road traffic must be halved by 2025 if Northern Ireland is to meet its climate change targets, official predictions revealed today.
Further increases will significantly undermine the Stormont Executive’s ability to meet its overall aims, a report from the Department for Regional Development (DRD) warned.
Pollutants from transport increased significantly since 1990, significantly affecting progress in other areas, the paper added. There has been a notable increase in rural driving and transport for construction materials.
The DRD review said: “While, it may be possible to pursue more ambitious reductions in other sectors to address potential shortfalls in transport, the fact remains that further increases in road transport emissions will significantly undermine the potential to successfully realise the Executive’s targets and commitments in this area.
“Transport must therefore play its part. Indeed the outworking of the Climate Change Act, the Renewable Energy Directive and related legislation are likely to require action to reduce emissions from road transport.”
A rapidly growing population and economic growth following the end of the conflict contributed to past increases in demand for transport, the Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Road Transport report added.
Within freight transport there has been a particular rise in light goods vehicle traffic.
Total greenhouse gas emissions from road transport increased by 53 per cent between 1990 and 2006.
“The scale of the challenge is considerable, but it is unlikely to decrease in magnitude in the absence of a concerted policy response,” the paper added. “Moreover, it will require a focus on all areas of transport including reight.”
It said traffic speeds decreased by 12 per cent from 2001 to 2007 and there has been a significant increase in traffic from 17,210 million vehicle kilometres in 2001 to 20,002 million in 2007. During this same period, the total length of roads across Northern Ireland increased by less than 2 per cent.
PA