More than 100 leaders from industry and government have gathered for the ARA Rail Sustainability Leaders' Summit in Melbourne to discuss critical measures to accelerate Australia's journey to net zero.
The Hon. Danny Pearson MP, Victorian Minister for Transport Infrastructure, Minister for the Suburban Rail Loop, Assistant Treasurer, Minister for WorkSafe and the TAC addressed the Australasian Railway Association (ARA) Summit, held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, on Wednesday.
ARA CEO Caroline Wilkie said the Summit comes at a critical turning point for Australia's transport industry, which must undergo rapid transformation to meet net zero emissions by 2050.
"The decisions governments and industry make today will have a long-lasting impact for generations to come," Ms Wilkie said.
"The ARA is working with industry and government to support collaboration and a shared commitment to measures to create a sustainable, equitable and efficient transport system under net zero conditions.
"Increasing the use of public transport and enabling more freight on rail, as well as leveraging new technologies to reduce congestion and carbon emissions, is the starting point for this transition.
"Aside from walking, rail is the most environmentally friendly form of transport and is the fastest way to a more sustainable future and achieving net zero emissions by 2050."
Andrew Morgan, Assistant Secretary for the Net Zero Unit, Department of Infrastructure, Transport Regional Development, Communications, and the Arts, presented at the Summit on the Transport and Infrastructure Net Zero Consultation Roadmap.
Rail only comprises about 4 per cent of direct transport emissions and so increasing its mode share is critical.
The ARA has lodged a submission to the Roadmap, highlighting the benefits of rail as an immediate-term solution for reducing emissions in the transport sector, while emphasising the need for informed strategy and policy to support the long-term decarbonisation of the sector, particularly in hard to abate areas such as rail freight and heavy haul.
The submission was informed by earlier ARA research, including the recently released The Critical Path to Decarbonise Australia's Rail Rollingstock. This included recommendations for actions the Government can take in the immediate, short, and medium term to progress decarbonisation of the rail sector.
Other speakers at the Summit included:
- Andrew Aitken, Sustainability Principal, Inland Rail, who gave an update on the 1600km project connecting Brisbane to Melbourne;
- Kylie Gallasch, Chief Financial Officer, ARTC, who spoke about the network's efforts to cope with repeated severe weather events;
- Lissa van Camp, Executive General Manager, Land, Planning, Environment & Sustainability Suburban Rail Loop Authority, who gave an update on the project which is expected to take 600,000 cars off the road each day; and
- Dena Jacobs, Executive Director Strategy, Planning and Innovation, Infrastructure NSW who spoke about reducing the carbon impact of infrastructure projects.
The Summit also included panel discussions on "powering our future – the energy transition", decarbonising our rail freight network, fast tracking our journey to net-zero, resilience and innovating to deliver sustainable outcomes.
