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Dear Inner Sydney Candidates,

This week the UN Foundation released Confronting Climate Change: Avoiding the Unmanageable and Managing the Unavoidable, giving very clear recommendations for what the international community and nations themselves must do to mitigate and adapt to climate change.

The SMH reports that transport is responsible for 40% of the world's carbon emissions. Oil use in transport is responsible for one-quarter of the CO2 emissions from energy worldwide. In Australia, transport accounts for over 80 million tonnes of our total net GHG emissions (14% of our total) and is the fastest growing source.

What will you do to reduce transport GHG emissions?

Developing alternative fuels is important, but it will take at least ten years to make an impact. Improving public transport is absolutely necessary, but will also take time and investment to improve capacity sufficiently to replace a significant proportion of existing car trips. But did you know that almost half the car trips in Sydney are less than 5km - a distance often not suited to public transport but usually faster by bicycle (15 minutes) than by car (especially if you count parking time)? A quarter of Sydney car trips are walkable, at 2km or less (car pollutants are at their worst for short trips). Half Sydney's households already have bikes. Bikes outsell cars every year in Australia. There are many quick and inexpensive ways to improve provision for cycling to make it the practical and natural choice for short trips.

Providing for and encouraging cycling will reduce GHG emissions, improve Sydney's air quality, reduce congestion and improve health. It really is a "best buy" in policy.

What will you do to achieve these benefits for Sydney, if elected?

Yours sincerely,

Fiona Campbell

-- GilbertGrace - 21 Mar 2007

Parents: Advocacy > 2006Policy

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