Energy Efficiency and Climate Change Mitigation in the Land Transport Sector in the ASEAN Region

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

Title:  Energy efficiency and climate change mitigation in the land transport sector in the ASEAN region (in short: Transport and Climate Change)
Commissioned by: German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
Countries: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Viet Nam
Lead executing agency: ASEAN Land Transport Working Group
Overall term: 2013 to 2015 (Phase I); 2016-2018 (Phase II)

Context
Transport, sustainability and climate change in the ASEAN region

A certain level of mobility creates benefits for economic and social development; however the current trends in the transport sector in Asia are unsustainable. With 310 million tonnes of CO2 emissions, transport in ASEAN is a significant contributor to global CO2 emissions. Furthermore, the transport sector has the second highest share of total final energy consumption in the ASEAN region. Congestion, road safety and air pollution – responsible for 7 million premature deaths globally – are among the key issues related to transport. Sustainable transport must not only focus on passenger cars, but also consider freight vehicles and motorcycles as well.

There are large synergies between local and global sustainability, particularly when local pollutants such as black carbon – the 2nd largest contributor to climate change after CO2 – are considered. However, the good news is that there are multiple options and a vast potential to increase energy efficiency and to reduce emissions in the land transport sector of ASEAN Member States (AMS).

Nevertheless, more needs to be done to fully capture these opportunities. In light of this, ASEAN’s Kuala Lumpur Transport Strategic Plan 2016-2025 includes sustainable transport actions in general, including the issues of green freight and energy efficiency in particular, which were designed to help reduce transport’s environmental footprint.

OBJECTIVES

“Improve the conditions for the implementation of measures to increase energy efficiency and reduce climate relevant emissions from the land transport sector in the ASEAN region at the regional and national level.”

APPROACHES

At the ASEAN-level, the project is developing strategies and guidelines in close cooperation with the ASEAN Working Group on Climate Change, the Land Transport Working Group (LTWG) and the Transport Facilitation Working Group (TFWG). The project uses regional dialogue formats to work towards a joint policy for energy efficiency and climate protection in the transport sector, and is supporting the transport and environment ministries in the ASEAN countries in refining and implementing existing strategies and action plans on energy efficiency and climate change mitigation in the transport sector. Specifically, the three topical pillars of the project are fuel efficiency, two-wheelers including electrification, and green freight and logistics. Additionally, the project supports data collection, the development of sustainable transport indicators, linking universities and research institutions with policy implementation, and a systematic support for training and capacity-building.

RESULTS SO FAR

Linking national strategies to the KLTSP
As of 2016, stocktaking reports for all five partner countries have been developed and submitted to country counterparts. These reports help identify policy gaps in order to move forward the implementation of the KLTSP on a national level.

The transport ministries in Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Thailand are working to improve their action plans. This work is based on analyses and reports that present a comprehensive description of the available data, the institutional setting, policy measures, donor activities and need for improvement in the transport and climate sectors.

Transport-NAMAs
At the ASEAN regional level, the project organises and facilitates regional exchange on transport-NAMAs. In Thailand, the project supported the development of the “People-centred Urban Mobility NAMA, which is now seeking international funding to support its implementation. This project focuses on shift, improve and fuel switch measures that create climate and people-friendly mobility systems. Important objectives are: technology innovation for a transformation of the bus fleet to low-carbon buses and a system change to low-carbon and intermodal mobility by integration of bus and non-motorised transport with rail-based urban transport. The concept note is finalised and will be submitted to the UNFCCC NAMA registry within 2016.

In Vietnam, the project is supporting the Ministries of Transport and Environment in the identification and prioritisation of options for NAMAs in the transport sector.
In Malaysia, the development of a NAMA proposal on energy-efficient two-wheelers was supported.
In the Philippines and Indonesia, the project works together with other initiatives on MRV and NAMA development.

Capacity Building
Workshops on fuel economy standards and policies as well as on green freight and logistics have been conducted in Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam. These workshops help build up regional expert databases and foster knowledge sharing.

Further, the Indonesian Ministry of Transportation aims to incorporate environmental concerns into its five-year plan and is drafting a white paper – a collection of proposals and options – on environmentally sound freight transport. In order to realise green transport projects, the Department of Transportation of the Philippines is improving the basic rules and management of the Special Vehicle Pollution Control Fund.

MRV systems, indicators, and data
Indonesia has improved its methods of monitoring and documenting greenhouse gas emissions from transport and is drawing up an action plan to make further improvements to the system. Thailand is developing a Measurement, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) system for transport as well. In August 2016, a workshop on (regional) sustainable transport indicators will be held in Malaysia to promote MRV systems implementation.

FINANCED BY

The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)

MORE INFORMATION

Energy Efficiency and Climate Change Mitigation in the Land Transport Sector in the ASEAN Region

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