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KICK THE HABIT
THE PROBLEM
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it is our right. Personal and commercial transport consumes about 20 per
cent of the global energy supply, 80 per cent of which comes from fossil
fuels. So the more an individual acquires or consumes commodities that
have had to travel to the point of use, the larger their climate footprint will
be. Globally, the energy used by
road transport
is the biggest chunk in
transport-related emissions, accounting for more than 70 per cent within the
sector. Road transport saw an emissions increase of 46.5 per cent between
1987 and 2004. Air travel is expanding fast: the miles flown rose between
...
in
business class
...
in
economy class
510
220
Flying a thousand kilometres in
first class
(long distance flight, emissions per passenger)
770
New cars are becoming more and more efficient, but this trend is counterbalanced
with more miles driven and more vehicles on the road. According to the World Re-
sources Institute global vehicle production increased about 14 per cent between 1999
and 2005. In India Tata Motors launched the world’s cheapest car, the Tata Nano,
at the beginning of 2008. It will sell for 100 000 rupees, or US$2 500. Nanos will
replace many highly-polluting two-stroke vehicles. And their owners have as much
right to drive as anyone else. Tata will start by making about 250 000 Nanos and
expects annual demand eventually to reach 1 million cars, to add to the 13 million or
so on the country’s roads already. On the other hand, experts say India’s greenhouse
gas emissions will rise almost seven-fold if car travel remains unchecked.