Shifting to low-carbon transport in Asean : policy development in a rapidly motorising region

Abstract

The modal structure with which the demand is met consists of road, rail, water and air for freight, while for passenger transport a large diversity of modes is distinguished, including car, taxi, motorcycle, tricycle, bus, train, metro, walking, bicycle, boat, airplane, and a variety of modified vehicles used in informal public transport. In developed countries, e.g. the EU, modal shares have been remarkably stable in the past decade (EEA, 2016). In developing regions, due to rapid motorisation, car travel is growing rapidly-both in absolute and relative terms-, often resulting in a decrease in public and non-motorised mode shares (Clean Air Asia, 2012). Private motorisation levels, especially car ownership, is however still substantially below values found in developed countries (OECD/ITF, 2017). per capita income ranging from US$ 1,198 (Cambodia) to US$ 52,744 (Singapore) in 2015-2016 (ASEAN, 2017), urbanisation rates between 21% (Laos) to 100% (Singapore) in 2015 (World Bank, 2016), and open democracies such as Indonesia and the Philippines, to socialist states (Vietnam, Laos), a one-party democracy (Cambodia) and a country under military rule (Thailand). Such differences are also apparent in the Worldwide Governance Indicators (World Bank, 2017), in which for five out of six indicators the countries cover nearly the entire scale, i.e. from less than 10 to over 90. For the three indicators Government Effectiveness, Regulatory Quality and Rule of Law, Singapore scores over 95, while Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia are roughly between 5 and 30. For Voice and Accountability, the 1.3.2 Sustainable development and transport policy and planning Ever since its conception in the Brundtland report, the term 'sustainable development' has been criticised for its lack of clarity and difficulty to operationalise into concrete policy goals (Litman & Burwell, 2006). However, as an objective for the global community to develop in a fashion that 'meets the need of the present Approaches to transport planning have evolved from facilitating movement of private vehicles ('predict and provide', or demand-driven) to a more balanced set of interventions in which transport demand management (Buchanan, 1963) plays an important role. Such supply-driven approaches and paradigms have been developed using different terms, such as 'manage and predict' (Zuidgeest, 2005), 'the sustainable mobility paradigm' (Banister, 2008), 'accessibility' (OECD/ITF, 2017) and Avoid-Shift-Improve (Dalkmann & Brannigan, 2007). The essence of these more holistic frameworks is that transport policy and planning need to reflect a wide range of goals including access, equity, environment, safety, liveability, energy security, rather than a narrow focus on vehicular movement. For decarbonising the transport sector, changes in, on the one hand, the transport and land-use systems (i.e. the way mobility of people and goods is organised and used) and, on the other hand, vehicle and fuel technologies, are required (OECD/ITF, 2017; PPMC, 2017; Chapman, 2007). These are two ...

Low-Carbon Quick Wins: Integrating Short-Term Sustainable Transport Options in Climate Policy in Low-Income Countries

“…Since the adoption of the Paris Agreement in 2015 it is higher on the political agenda, and developing countries realise that the climate change policy framework is here to stay. The Paris Agreement climate reporting mechanisms (NDC/BUR/NC) have resulted in developing countries thinking about aspects of low-carbon transport, as shown in [8] for Southeast-Asian countries.…”

“…Therefore, to develop a comprehensive climate strategy for the transport sector, collaboration and coordination between these various agencies is required. The NDC process has been shown to help inter-ministerial coordination for LCT in some Southeast-Asian countries, including in Indonesia [8]. However, various agencies may have different and sometimes conflicting objectives, for example, producing cars and reducing congestion, as was raised by an Indonesian respondent.…”