Stephen Greaves - Transport

Sustainable transport and logistics

Based on the latest estimates, transportation emissions are projected to increase by 70 per cent between 1990 and 2020. The most significant contributor to this increase will come from the road freight sector, reflecting the increasing demand for the efficient movement of consumer products, groceries, industrial supplies and other staples of modern life.

Associate Professor Greaves’s research, facilitated through a current ARC Discovery grant, focuses on the development of a new methodology to assess the impact of policies designed to reduce the environmental impact of this growth in freight activity.

His approach injects greater reality into the modelling of freight traffic, the associated externalities and the exposure of the population to these externalities. Early insights from the research suggest that while modern freight vehicles have become cleaner and more efficient, these gains have been offset by the increase in kilometres travelled and the fact that the majority of on-road vehicles predate the introduction of meaningful emission standards. Strategies to expedite the replacement of older vehicles (eg scrappage programs, emission zones) could realise a 10–15 per cent reduction in emissions.

Alternative fuels (eg biodiesel, LPG) appear to have little net environmental benefit over conventional fuels because of life-cycle costs, blending and reduced efficiencies, although they do offer some buffer against oil dependence. Educational and information strategies (such as driver training, proactive vehicle maintenance) appear to offer a ‘quick win’ in terms of offering savings in emissions in the order of 10 per cent, while reducing fuel costs for operators.

The outcomes of the research will be of great significance to freight operators, local councils and road authorities charged with managing freight traffic, and public health authorities