1.
Will it Ever Really Count?
Prof Greg Marsden
Institute for Transport Studies

2.
Sustainable Development and
Sustainable Transportation

3.
Sustainable Development and
Sustainable Transportation
National
Economic System
Global Market
Urban System
Telecommunications
System
Energy/Power
System
Water and Sewage
System
Transportation
System
Land Use
Institutional
Structure
Infrastructure
System
System Users/
Stakeholders
Transportation
Modes
Intermodal
Connections
Transit Network Highway Network
Non-motorized
Network
Airway Network
Source: Adapted from Meyer
and Miller (2001, p. 91).
Collectors LocalArterials

4.
Sustainable Development and
Sustainable Transportation
Physical
Systems
Production
Consumption
Waste
Raw
Materials
Solar
Energy Heat
Recycled
Materials
ECOSYSTEM
Other …
Energy
Transportation
Communication
Industrial
Source: Adapted from Daly
(1991)

5.
Sustainable Development and
Sustainable Transportation
“There can be no sustainable development
without sustainable transportation. It is an
essential component not only because transportation is a
prerequisite to development in general but also because
transportation, especially our use of motorized vehicles,
contributes substantially to a wide range of
environmental problems, including energy waste, global
warming, degradation of air and water, noise, ecosystem
loss and fragmentation, and desecration of the
landscape. Our nation’s environmental quality will be
sustainable only if we pursue transportation in a
sustainable way” (Benfield and Replogle 2002, p. 647).

6.
Example Impacts
Economic Environmental Social
• Costs of transport to
customers/consumers
•Time loss in traffic/ Congestion
• Costs relating to accidents
•Transportation facility
construction, maintenance and
disposal costs
•Transportation-related health
costs
•Depletion of non-renewable
resources and energy supplies
• Air pollution
• Noise pollution
• Vibration
• Light pollution
• Visual intrusion
• Water pollution
• Consumption of land/urban
sprawl
• Release of toxic/hazardous
substances
• Solid waste
• Disruption of ecosystems and
habitats
• Hydrologic impacts
• Introduction of exotic species
• Depletion of the ozone layer
• Global climate change
• Mobility
• Accessibility
• Accidents
• Obesity
• Barriers for the disadvantaged
•Inequalities associated with
impacts
• Community livability
• Gender imbalances
• Cohesion/integration
• Opportunity
• Anxiety/’Rootlessness’
• Migration
Source: Gudmundsson and Cornet

7.
Sustainable Development and
Sustainable Transportation
• a critical component of a broader economic system which
supports business and social development;
• an open system, which requires natural and man-made inputs
and produces outputs which impact on the environment;
• part of a social system that shapes and is shaped by that social
system, including other policy areas;
• comprised of a series of physical sub-systems with a range of
physical and operational components and which are organized
through formal and informal conventions; and
• fragmented series of partly connected yet partly competing
sub-systems with complex and varying governance
arrangements.

8.
Sustainable Transportation
Where to make it count?
POLICY
LEVEL
ORGANIZATIONAL
LEVEL
PROJECT
LEVEL
Source: Gudmundsson and Cornet

9.
European Transport White Paper
Policy Level
• Overarching Aim
to build a competitive transport system
that will increase mobility, remove major
barriers in key areas and fuel growth and
employment. At the same time, the
proposals will dramatically reduce Europe's
dependence on imported oil and cut
carbon emissions in transport by 60% by
2050

10.
Remembering Context

11.
Remembering Context

12.
Economic Impacts Assessed
Impact Areas Indicators
Economic Impacts
Transport Activity Passenger kilometers and tonne kilometers by all modes.
Modal Shift Share of passenger or tonne kilometers by mode.
Transport costs to users Unit cost per passenger or tonne transported (including capital costs, fixed operation
costs and variable fuel and non-fuel costs).
Economic growth Qualitative inference of policy impacts on GDP only.
Efficiency of the transport
system
Not defined but incorporates notions of smart pricing, efficient networks, fuel efficiency
and vehicle purchase costs.
Congestion Average speed and use of available road capacity.
Household costs The share of passenger transport costs within the household income of the average EU
household.
Transport related sectors Not defined but qualitative inference of the potential of the strategies to support the
European vehicle manufacturing industry.
Innovation and research Not defined but qualitative inference about the impact of the strategy on research spend
on green innovation.
Reduction of administrative
burden
Not defined but qualitative inference about overall levels of administration.
EU budget Not defined as will be assessed on a case by case basis.
International relations Not defined but qualitative inference about the potential synergies and conflicts with

13.
Social Impacts Assessed
Impact Areas Indicators
Social Impacts
Degree of mobility Refers to the % change in total transport activity for passengers with an
overall reduction being negative.
Choice Not defined but qualitative inferences about rail investments improving
choice.
Accessibility Potential accessibility is a generalized cost based measure. Larger areas are
more attractive and cost, time and distance are negative separation factors.
Distributional Impacts Not clearly defined although the analysis refers in part to the distribution of
household costs by income band.
Employment level and
conditions
Number of jobs in the transport sector. Skills and working conditions are not
defined clearly.
Safety External costs of accidents and total number of accidents.

14.
Environmental Impacts Assessed
Impact Areas Indicators
Environmental Impacts
Climate Change Total CO2 emissions from transport. Both transport and well to wheel analyses are
presented.
Air pollution Emissions of NOx and PM10 and external costs of these pollutants.
Noise pollution External costs of noise pollution.
Energy use/energy
efficiency
Total energy demand from transport Millions of Tonnes of Oil Equivalent (reviewed in
detail below). Energy intensity is an efficiency indicator that uses total energy demand
and transport activity to create a ratio for passenger and freight.
Renewable energy
use
Total energy demand split by fossil fuels, biofuels and electricity.
Biodiversity Not defined but qualitatively refers to fragmentation, land-take, loss of biodiversity and
damage to eco-system services.

15.
European Transport White Paper
-200
-150
-100
-50
0
50
100
150
200
CO2 intensity Energy intensity Activity level Total
Urban Interurban Intercontinental
-44%
-40%
-74%
Passenger transport
33%
31%
120%
-22%
-19%
51%
MtonCO2
0%-11%
-10%
Review of Do-Minimum Case
Factors Influencing CO2 emissions

16.
European Transport White PaperPolicy Option 2 Policy Option 3 Policy Option 4
Economic Impacts
Transport Activity -- = -
Modal Shift ++ = +
Transport costs to users --- = --
Economic growth ++ + +++
Efficiency of the transport system ++ + +++
Congestion ++ = +
Household costs -- - --
Transport related sectors + +++ +++
Innovation and research + +++ ++
Reduction of administrative burden + = +
EU budget = = =
International relations -- - -
Social Impacts
Degree of mobility --- = -
Choice ++ = ++
Accessibility ++ = ++
Distributional Impacts = - +
Employment level and conditions ++ ++ +++
Safety ++ = +
Environmental Impacts
Climate Change +++ +++ +++
Air pollution +++ ++ ++
Noise pollution +++ ++ +

17.
European Transport White Paper
• Largest Scale attempt for Sustainable
Transport Assessment
• Significant improvement in transparency
• Informs policy package choice (coherence with
longer-term goals)
• Positive role as a signal

18.
European Transport White Paper
• Modelling systems not robust
• Indicators are so aggregate as to lose meaning
• Social context is flattened
• Does not really reach out beyond transport
• Implementation is largely national
– Is this joined up?
• Only limited signs that constraints are to play a
part
• “Curbing Mobility is not an option”
– Weak sustainability

19.
High Speed Rail
• Decision taken in same way
as other infrastructure
projects
• Bespoke Sustainability
Appraisal also commissioned
Phase 1 Phase 2 Rolling Stock Total
Target Cost 17.16 n/a
Estimated Cost 15.65 12.5 5.8 33.95
Contingency 5.75 8.7 1.7 16.15
Total 21.4 21.2 7.5 50.1
Source: Environmental Audit Committee

20.
Towards documents about sustainable
transportation (2007, 2008)
Indicators
Greenhouse Gas Emissions
CO2 emissions by end user (industry, transport, domestic, other)
Aviation and shipping emissions
Private Vehicles: CO2 emissions, car-km, and final household expenditure
Road Freight: CO2 emissions, tonne-km, tonnes, and GDP
Road Transport Emissions NOx, PM10, CO2 emissions, and GDP
Emissions of air pollutants
Air Quality and Health
Ecological impacts of air pollution
Mobility
Getting to school
Accessibility

21.
What is HS2 for?
• Never been articulated as part of a sustainable transport
strategy
• 2009 SoS Transport Geoff Hoon announced creation of HS2
Limited in a statement to Parliament about expansion of
Heathrow
• 2 years previously, the Rail White Paper had said:
• “Higher speed is not the only or best way of cutting journey times.
Nor is it without cost. Increasing the maximum speed of a train
from 200 km/h to 350 km/h means a 90 per cent increase in energy
consumption. In exchange, it cuts station-to-station journey time by
less than 25 per cent and door-to-door journey-time by even less. …
The argument that high-speed rail travel is a ‘green option’ does not
stand up to close inspection on the basis of the present electricity
generation mix.” (DfT, 2007b, p. 62).

22.
What is HS2 for?
• The remit of HS2 Limited was subsequently clarified to
focus, in order of priority on:
• Passenger capacity: “this is the driving consideration,
including capacity released on classic lines”;
• Speed;
• Land use and development objectives and the support
of new housing development; and
• Developing the line to be capable of handling freight
for greater network resilience.
• Modal shift from air to rail was “not expected to be a
key objective for HS2” (Rowlands, 2009).

23.
Sustainability Appraisal
Source: Geisler et al. (2011)

24.
Sustainability Appraisal
Key Sustainability Issue Objective
Reducing greenhouse gas emissions and combating climate change
Climatic factors and
adaptability
 Improve resilience of the rail network against extreme
weather events
Greenhouse Gases  Contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by
facilitating modal shift from road and air to rail
 Reduce relative contribution made by rail to greenhouse
gas emissions by promoting energy efficient technologies
Natural and cultural resource protection and environmental enhancement
Landscape and townscape  Maintain and enhance existing landscape character
 Maintain and enhance existing townscape character
• 18 sustainability issues
• 33 objectives as shown in Table
• 33 objectives => 66 evaluation criteria

25.
Sustainability Appraisal
HS2 Objectives and Option identification process
Option Generation
Scheme Components London
Terminus
Line of
Route
Etc.
Sift 1
90+ long list options
Review of Operations, Cost
Demand and Engineering HS2 Board
Decision Point 1
Sift 2
50+ intermediate list options
Appraisal including simplified
Appraisal of Sustainability HS2 Board
Decision Point 2
Sift 3
Shortlist of stations and whole routes
Appraisal including full
Appraisal of Sustainability HS2 Board
Decision Point 3
Finalising preferred scheme and main alternatives

26.
Likely Impact of Proposed
HS2
Likely change between the
current baseline and
future baseline
Cumulative Impacts
Reducing greenhouse gas emissions and combating climate change
resilience of the rail network + 0 +
greenhouse gas emissions +/- + +
Natural and cultural resource protection and environmental enhancement
landscape character -- - --
townscape character 0 0 0
archeological assets - 0 -
historic buildings - - -
historic landscapes - - -
biodiversity - - -
surface water resources - 0 -
groundwater resources - - -
capacity of flood plains - - --
Creating sustainable communities
local air quality U + +
local noise environment -- - --
local vibration environment - 0 0
community integrity 0 - 0
pedestrian access 0 + +
access to public transport + + ++
public transport interchange + + ++
mental well-being 0 0 0
physical health 0 + +
health inequalities 0 0 0
road traffic accidents 0 0 0
crime and fear of crime 0 0 0
economic competitiveness ++ U ++
wider economic growth and
employment
++ U ++
employment ++ U ++
Support planned
development
- ++ ++
Regeneration + ++ ++
Sustainable consumption and production
land resources - - -
brownfield sites + + +
waste protection - + +
primary material resources - - -

27.
Reflections on HS2 Case
• Comprehensive coverage of indicators
• Influential in changing route and route design
• Transparency in categories that win and lose
• No clear policy framework
• No sense of fit to broader sustainability goals
• Not commissioned to ask if it was worth doing

28.
Conclusions – It is counting
• Significant increase in evidence base
• Greater transparency in decision-making
processes
• Pathways least consistent with direction of
sustainable development avoided
• Possible to deploy to make specific projects
meet more of goals (see also GreenLITES)

29.
Conclusions – But not enough
• As yet no consistent policy position on green growth
• No evidence of limits being a strong influence on
pathways
• Compromises are fudged in +++ -- overarching
summaries
• Worrying lack of joining up across spatial scales (EU-
National, National-Local)
• Modal siloes continue to exist and limit integration
(absent in particular national strategy)
• Cross-sectoral decision-making even further removed