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By Charles Finny, Wellington Regional Chamber of CommerceHow to respond to public concern about the implications of climate change has moved to the centre of the political agenda in New Zealand, as it has in many parts of the world. This is positive as, for the last seven years or so, the government has done practically nothing to respond to the increasing evidence that the problem is real.Unfortunately, politicians from all shades and at all levels of government (central and local) are seeking to appear greener-than-green. This is beginning to threaten to deliver poor public policy decision making. Nowhere is this threat stronger than decision making over land transport infrastructure in the Wellington region. Both the highway and rail line in this region have suffered from the wider failure of successive New Zealand governments to invest in infrastructure. Capacity on these essential links has not met demand for some time and congestion is clearly having a negative impact on productivity growth. Government has realised that it has to act and, for the first time in a generation, substantial sums of money have been made available to improve capacity. In the Wellington region, approximately $3 billion is earmarked for transport infrastructure investment over the next 10 years. Unfortunately ‘environmental activists’ are campaigning against the expenditure of this new money on roading improvements. They claim that more, less-congested roading will lead to a higher number of cars and trucks on the road. This will lead to more CO2 emissions and exacerbate climate change. These groups are insisting on local action ahead of global action, even though the Wellington region is responsible for only around 0.013 of global emissions. Although it is currently politically incorrect to challenge these assertions, they are wrong. Indeed climate change means that we should be investing more, rather than less, on roads in this region. There are two main reasons for this: First, the ‘environmentally concerned’ are ignoring the likely consequences of climate change for this region. While the naïve believe that by taking action locally we will somehow insulate the region from the effects of global change, the reality is, that as we in Wellington happily move to carbon neutrality, the sea level will continue to rise and the frequency and severity of storms will increase. As this happens, the negatives of having your main north-south road and rail artery running a few centimeters above high tide mark, beneath over-steepened slopes made of unstable materials and in an area already prone to land slides in heavy rain become obvious. And to add to the mix, this region is extremely earthquake prone. As more big earthquakes are inevitable so are tsunamis and land slides. In fact, you would be plain dumb to persist with these risks if there was an alternative alignment available. It is, and it needs to be built. Better roads will also have an impact on fuel efficiency and can actually lead to reduced emissions, so long as it is possible to restrict growth in car usage. This is possible by the introduction, as we are planning in Wellington, of cordon and congestion charging. A regional fuel tax is also being mooted. The opening of the Wellington Inner City Bypass a few months ago halved the length of time it takes many commuters to drive to work. Most of time savings come from the fact that cars keep moving and are not left idling. This has reduced, by a substantial amount, the greenhouse gas produced by vehicles using this new road. It has also resulted in a significant productivity gain for all users, a gain that will more than cover the cost of construction. The outcome was win-win-win – good for users, good investment for the economy and good for the environment. Second, those advocating a ‘no more expenditure on roads’ policy are ignoring the technological advances that are occurring which look likely to reduce, if not eliminate, the negative environmental effects of road vehicle use. By the time the new roads we are planning are completed we will see more efficient engines, more hybrids and probably fully electric vehicles (using our wonderful renewably generated electricity). Biofuels may be a factor also, and watch out for hydrogen cell technology. We are going to look pretty foolish in 20 years time if we plan today on continued absolute reliance on today’s technology and on continuing dependence on petrol and diesel powered vehicles. Technology is changing and, as with other areas of the climate change response, is probably the key to making major short term gains. In this regard I am delighted by the recently announced initiative by Meridian Energy to help accelerate the introduction of electric vehicles into New Zealand. Roads are going to be with us for many years to come. Lets accept this reality and plan for a roading network that is both efficient and which mitigates against the likely effects of climate change.
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