Recommendations on Nationally

Appropriate Mitigation Actions for the Transport Sector

Ned Helme, PresidentCenter for Clean Air Policy

*******Transforming Transportation 2010

Next Steps After Copenhagen: Opportunities and Challengesin the Transport Sector

Inter-American Development BankJanuary 15, 2010

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How is Transportation Different from Other High-Emitting Sectors?

CO2 benefits of mitigation measures tend to be long-term and grow over time» Transformational opportunities are prevalent

Significant sustainable development co-benefits Emissions baselines and CO2 reductions are

less certain and more difficult to estimate» Vehicle fuel efficiency, alternative fuels may be

exceptions

Some combinations of measures are synergistic All three “legs of the stool” impact emissions

» Vehicles, fuels and VKT

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Implications forTransportation Mitigation

Transportation measures cannot compete with mitigation measures from other sectors in terms of $/tonne» CDM illustrates these difficulties

NAMAs provide a new opportunity for developing countries to obtain up-front climate funding for transportation mitigation, to achieve low-carbon growth for this sector, and to capture sustainable development benefits

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NAMAs Background

International debate centers on three types of NAMAs:» Unilateral» Supported» Credit-generating

Goal of unilateral and supported NAMAs is to produce developing country emissions reductions that are not offsets – DCs’ contribution to climate protection

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NAMAs and Transportation

Unilateral NAMAs:» Many measures can have low or negative cost:

reductions in fuel subsidies, differential vehicle taxes, abolition of minimum parking requirements, congestion pricing

Supported NAMAs:» These are the most promising.

Credit-generating NAMAs:» Likely to face similar problems to transport under

the CDMAdditionality-related and Methodological

(quantification, baselines)

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Supported Transportation NAMAs

Types of Measures

Planning and Research (Capacity Building)

Regulation and Policy (Primarily Capacity Building)

Infrastructure(Finance, technology)

Vehicles and Fuels

• Fuel economy test procedures

• Fuel economy standards

• Alternative-fuel infrastructure• Retooling factories

Land-Use and Infrastructure

• Planning and outreach• Travel demand modeling

• Congestion pricing• Smart growth• Abolish parking requirements

• Bus Rapid Transit• Bicycle networks•Transit-oriented development

Cross-Cutting • Data collection• Professional development• Low-Carbon Transportation Plans

• Fuel taxation• Removal of fuel subsidies

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Example of a Low-Carbon Transportation Plan

Phase I (through 2020) expects 2 million tonnes in CO2 reductions per year after completion:» Five new BRT corridors» Switching taxis to compressed natural gas» Comprehensive bikeway network» Transit-oriented development along BRT corridors» Reduction in fuel subsidies nationwide» Cancelling a ring-road project

Two options for supporting the Plan:» Full Plan – $200 million for 3 BRT corridors with all

other measures pledged unilaterally» Smaller bundles – e.g. support for two BRT corridors

would be bundled with unilateral pledge for associated TOD in these two corridors

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Summary of Key Recommendations

Develop Low Carbon Transportation Plans Create a Transportation Window within the

Copenhagen Green Climate Fund with dedicated funding and evaluation criteria

Earmark funding for planning and capacity-building

Fund the best bundles of projects and policies that produce synergies and encourage the adoption of unilateral NAMAs

Accept uncertainty

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Low-Carbon Transportation Plan

Framework to guide a comprehensive package of mitigation measures» Locally defined so as to address development and

quality-of-life concerns of developing countries (DCs)» Includes short-term and long-term measures/impacts» Assesses costs and SD co-benefits» Identifies key implementation steps

Two types of components to a Plan:» National plan» Plans for metropolitan regions

NAMA assistance would support Plan development for all DCs and implementation for selected DCs

Only measures in a Plan would be eligible for support

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Transportation Windowfor Funding Supported NAMAs

For approved plans, CCAP proposes a direct-access Transportation Window with funds earmarked for:» Planning and capacity building» Implementation of Low-Carbon Transportation Plan

Creating a separate window for transportation insures funding for transport and avoids having to compete with electricity, industrial and forestry NAMAs

Clean Development Mechanism funding focused principally on short term CO2 cost per ton and ignored transformational, sustainable development and long term CO2 benefits

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Proposed Transportation Window Funding Allocation Criteria

Comprehensiveness and quality of Low-Carbon Transportation Plan

Implementation capacity» assesses likelihood of success of Plan

Co-benefits expected (health, development) Cost-sharing (taking capability into account) Long-term CO2 reductions and cost-

effectiveness of NAMA bundles Bundling of NAMAs

» prefer large unilateral effort and synergies

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Conclusions

Supported NAMAs are the most promising NAMA mechanism for the transportation sector

Large SD co-benefits from emission reductions Low-Carbon Transportation Plans can catalyze

both emissions reductions and development Dedicated transportation funding window is

needed

Photos:Right (Planetizen), Left (www.oregonlive.com )

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Thank you!

For More Information:

Visit www.ccap.org

White paper is being released today:Transportation NAMAs: A Proposed

Framework