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