Roads Australia has called on the recently re-elected federal government to “redouble” efforts towards decarbonising the nation’s transport sector.
Roads Australia CEO Ehssan Veiszadeh says there is “strong support” from industry to progress the net-zero agenda.
“Australia has made impressive progress in recent years to establish a policy framework to decarbonise transport. Having received a strong mandate at the recent federal election and strong support from the transport sector, the re-elected Albanese government has an opportunity to continue this momentum and cement Australia’s position as a global decarbonisation leader,” Veiszadeh says.
“With the backing of industry, the Albanese government is in the best possible position to drive the transformational change necessary to decarbonise Australia’s transport sector.
“Pursuing a nationally harmonised approach must be a priority in this term of government if we are to prevent the transport sector from becoming our largest source of emissions.”
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Roads Australia has released a new national policy platform, ‘On the road to net-zero’, that outlines 10 key recommendations to reduce whole-of-life emissions for transport infrastructure. These include:
- Undertake market soundings to understand low- or no-carbon innovations
- Require consideration of carbon in Multi Criteria Analysis
- Keep carbon intensity benchmarks up-to-date for target setting
- Create a mechanism for bidders to challenge standards
- Develop nationally consistent Emissions Factors and calculation assumptions
- Develop technical guidance for whole-of-life carbon measurement
- Update supporting policies and procedures for the use of national carbon values
- Create a national decarbonising infrastructure library
- Develop foundational learning materials for carbon management in infrastructure
- Investigate the possibility of setting a carbon budget for the transport sector
Alongside harmonisation of measurement guidance and decision-making frameworks, a central theme is the need to ensure industry has an opportunity to bring forward innovation at multiple stages in the project lifecycle.
“Innovations in the decarbonisation of infrastructure are occurring rapidly, so it is critical that government’s create mechanisms for industry insights and innovation to be brought forward. Market sounding to understand no or low-carbon innovations must occur prior to going out for tender, especially if we want to encourage investment in new technologies,” Veiszadeh says.
“Roads Australia is also calling for a mechanism in the tender process to make it easy for industry to challenge standards that may be preventing innovation in decarbonising infrastructure delivery.
“This is particularly important given the current slim profit margins and environment for risk allocation, which make it difficult for constructors to challenge design standards.”
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