§ Alan SimpsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what measures his Department is taking to contribute to the Government's implementation of the Kyoto Agreement. [119371]
§ Mr. JamiesonThe transport sector has an important contribution to make towards helping the Government to meet its Kyoto commitments. The 10 Year Plan for Transport, published in July 2000, envisaged a reduction in emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the transport sector over the current decade, and some significant reductions against projected emissions of greenhouse gases have already been, or are being, 108W achieved. The progress report on the 10 Year Plan, published in December 2002, showed a small reduction in CO2 emissions from road transport in the UK in each of the last two years, following a generally rising trend through the 1990s.
The Government's plans for moving towards a low carbon transport economy are set out in the Powering Future Vehicles Strategy, published in July 2002, and in the transport chapter of the Energy White Paper, published in February 2003. Central to these plans are the voluntary agreements with car manufacturers which are set, by 2008, to reduce average CO2 emissions from new cars by 25 per cent. against 1995 levels.
In developing transport policy, we give due weight to the need to limit emissions of greenhouse gases and other pollutants. The Kyoto agreement treats emissions from international and domestic transport somewhat differently. The forthcoming Air Transport White Paper and in the review of the Transport 10 Year Plan in particular will be taking account of the contribution the sector can make to helping meet the UK's domestic climate change commitments. The Department is also taking a leading role in the discussions required by the Kyoto agreement within the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the International Maritime Organization (IMO), on how best to limit or reduce emissions from international aviation and shipping respectively.