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Lead Editorial

The events at The Hague including the theatrical final breakdown of the talks and the petulant attack by the British minister (John Prescott) on the French minister (Dominique Voynet) show that we have failed the test. The American delegation behaved disgracefully, refusing to contemplate the ultimate negation of the American way of life: producing fewer greenhouse gases. President Bush is an oil and gas man from Texas. There is no room for sentimental talk about greenhouse gas reduction in a Texan-run White House. Such talk would be regarded in exactly the same way as talk of reducing missile capability in the US at the height of the Cold War. America is at war with the planet and at war with itself, and the rest of the world is going to have find its own way to tackle climate change without the assistance of the largest producer of greenhouse gases and without the prospect of any co-operation from the country responsible for producing 25% of global climate change emissions. President Bush made it clear in his election campaign that if poor people can¹t get to work by public transport then they should buy a car. His commitment to economic growth on the back of fossil fuel is rock solid. There is no alternative.

We must now find a European solution to a global problem. In an interesting inversion of a Hollywood metaphor the US cavalry is not there to rescue us but exists to make a bad situation worse. Europe can, and must, deliver on this challenge. There are three main areas of accelerated policy development that must now swing into action.

We must sort out aviation. Flying is one of the most damaging forms of human activity. It will be responsible in 2020 for 10% of the global warming effect, i.e. 10% of all the impact of greenhouse gas emissions on climate change are a result of flying. Europe should move immediately to institute a combination of taxation on aviation fuel and a charge on aircraft emissions on all flights starting or terminating in EU member states. This will include charges on US airlines. If they don¹t like it then they can fly somewhere else.

We also need to get to grips with car use. A recent Swiss study shows that 8% of the population are responsible for more than half of the kilometres driven. Driving around still disproportionately benefits rich people and penalises poor people as well as accelerating climate change. It is socially, ethically, environmentally and economically necessary to reduce car traffic. All EU countries should set traffic reduction targets and work towards achieving them through fiscal and regulatory changes.

A final area of policy development is land use. In the UK we are embarking on massive suburbanisation (not for the first time) and urbanisation of the countryside, all on the basis of flawed prediction of a need for 4 million new homes. One new house in the English countryside creates 7 new car trips per day. We need to re-centralise our development priorities, recycle urban land, develop mixed use, high density urban forms and reuse derelict offices, factories and other buildings that are currently grossly underutilised.

All these areas of policy will contribute to significant reductions in greenhouse gases. Interestingly they will also improve the quality of life for everyone and improve the economic circumstances of the poorest and the most disadvantaged. The rejection by the United States of climate change responsibilities is also an acceptance of grinding poverty for America¹s poorest groups and a commitment to pollution and poor health that will haunt this country for decades to come.

John Whitelegg
Editor
World Transport Policy and Practice

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Abstracts & Keywords

The outside world as a learning environment: Perspectives from child-oriented town planning - Helmut Holzapfel

The childhood experienced by today¹s children is largely one that is controlled and administered from outside. Town and transport planning play a decisive role in this process. Even plans that call themselves Œchild-friendly¹ often just create reservations for children instead of networks and facilities that give them freedom and independent mobility. The neglect of children¹s interests in town planning is harming their social development deeply.

Keywords: Children, Germany, walking, socialisation, town planning.

Modal Practices: From the rationales behind car & public transport use to coherent transport policies. Case studies in France & Switzerland - Vincent Kaufmann

There is a dichotomy between car use and public transport use. It very much is a case of either one or the other. Policies which seek to appease car users undermine the potential of public transport, not just by delaying it or inconveniencing it, but by simultaneously encouraging car use and alienating the attractiveness of public transport. Policy makers must decide clearly whether they support the viability and vitality of compact town centres with public transport-friendly policies or sprawling development. The two are mutually exclusive.

Keywords Berne, Besançon, Cars, Geneva, Grenoble, Lausanne, public transport, sustainable urban mobility, urban sociology, Toulouse.

This paper includes the results of one of the first studies to examine the structure and potential of transportation users taking bicycles on suburban and regional trains in Berlin and the Brandenburg region. Recommendations are made on how to grow this lucrative sector of integrated transport which can provide a genuine alternative to car ownership.

Keywords Berlin, bicycles, Brandenburg, tourism, trains.

This paper, ³Citizens¹ Railway not Stock Exchange railway ­ the bankruptcy of transport politics² delves into the restructuring of the German railway for profit. It tracks the financial and political incompetence, expediency and mismanagement of a national asset. While the national audit office was prevented from examining the balance sheet, behind the scenes, the reality of the state of the accounts left a lot to be desired. Despite our belief that the German Railways were a well-run, efficient machine, the truth was somewhat different. Since World War 2, some 200,000 km of new roads have been built while whereas rail lines were reduced by 15,000 km and more than 6000 stations were closed. Meanwhile, massive investment was made in high speed rail lines suited to journeys of 350+ km, yet 90% of journeys are less than 50 km and the average long distance journey is a mere 230 km. It was hoped that the Green­SPD government would introduce a sensible transport policy. Thus far they have failed.

Keywords: German Railways, mismanagement, incompetence, expediency.

Over the last three decades freight transport by road has increased nearly three-fold in the European Union. This has caused serious environmental harm. Following the Kyoto Conference in December 1997, the EU accepted binding targets to reduce CO2 emissions. Achieving these targets in the freight sector will involve changing the way goods are transported and changing the modes used for goods transport. In Britain and Germany rail was privatised just prior to the election of new centre-left governments. This paper examines what the different actors (politicians, freight operators} in the two countries can learn from each other. It compares the distribution models of each and will demonstrate what steps need to be taken to develop more sustainable transport solutions.

Keywords Britain, distribution, freight, Germany, logistics, privatisation, railways, trains.

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