The Australian freight logistics sector has been greatly affected by climate change, which has caused harm to transportation infrastructure, delays in delivery, and higher maintenance expenses. These adverse consequences present difficulties for the industry as it adapts to the changing climate. Considering that freight transportation contributes approximately 10% of Australia's GDP and generates $201 billion annually, it plays a crucial role in connecting the country's economy with the global market. Consequently, addressing climate change is an urgent and vital challenge that demands immediate action to prevent further escalation. This article offers an initial analysis of how human-induced climate change could potentially impact global freight transportation.
In Australia, climate change is expected to have an impact on the movement of freight. This includes rising temperatures, increased evaporation rates, intensified precipitation and ice melting, rising sea levels,
...and more variable weather patterns. It is important for the country to address this issue before it becomes unmanageable. While certain aspects of climate change may benefit freight transportation by reducing accidents caused by winter ice and snow, as well as decreasing delays, its negative effects are likely to affect all modes of freight movement. This paper will examine in detail how climate change will impact the safety, operation, and maintenance of freight transport in Australia. Additionally, it will explore the effects on the logistics industry and provide recommendations to mitigate this challenge.
Climate change
The current human-induced climate changes and variability pose a significant threat to freight transportation.
Climate change refers to the long-term alteration of weather patterns in a region, resulting in increased heat, coldness, or dryness. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 2007, the primary cause of
rising global average temperatures since the mid-20th century is greenhouse gas emissions from human activities, particularly carbon dioxide build-up in the atmosphere (Hensher, 2008). Between 1850 and 1899 and again from 2001 to 2005, there has been a temperature increase from 13.7 to 14.5 degrees Celsius globally, indicating a rise of 0.76 degree Celsius. In Australia, the average annual temperature has risen by one degree Celsius since the start of the 21st century. It is believed that this warming rate in Australia over the past five decades has been double compared to previous years (Nicholls and Collins, 2006).
In 2013, CSIRO, the National Science Agency, published a report stating that climate change would cause Australia to experience hotter temperatures and longer seasonal fires (Trabalka et al, 2013). A year later, the Bureau of Meteorology released a report affirming these findings. They also highlighted an increase in nighttime temperatures as well as the frequency of floods, droughts, and bushfires. According to their projections, by 2030 average temperatures in Australia could rise by up to 1.3 degrees Celsius compared to the period from 1986 to 2005. However, if Australia continues its reliance on fossil fuels, average temperatures could increase even further by approximately 4.8 degrees Celsius (Head et al., 2014).
Discussion
Australia's freight and logistics industry is a crucial component of the country's economy, contributing about 10% to its GDP. The nation works together with government entities at all levels to establish an efficient, cost-effective, and sustainable sector that promotes economic growth and enhances quality of life. Australia has a comprehensive transport system consisting of aviation, road, rail, and shipping networks that enable global connectivity. Air movements and shipping facilitate
the transportation of large commodities and general cargo while airports, ports, and intermodal terminals serve as vital nodes connecting rail and road networks within this extensive land transportation system (Agenda and Industry Steering Committee, 2002). However, it is anticipated that without intervention measures being implemented, transport emissions in Australia will rise by 50% from 1990 to 2030.
Road transport accounts for 85% of all transport emissions, with light vehicles emitting the largest amount (57 Mt CO2-e). Road freight is the second largest contributor at 20%, followed by aviation at 9%. Domestic shipping and rail emissions only account for 3% of total transport emissions. According to Nicholls and Collins (2006), climate change is projected to have significant impacts on Australia's logistic industry, affecting its design, operations, safety, and maintenance. This poses a major challenge for the freight logistic sector that requires immediate attention. The effects of climate change may include increased solar radiations and temperatures, rising sea levels, higher occurrence of bush fires, flooding, and salinity effects (Stanley et al, 2011).
The main contributors to climate change-induced damage in Australia's freight system are water and temperatures. To understand the impact of climate change on the system, it is important to consider factors such as infrastructure type, location, usage, management, and ownership (Chapman, 2007). The government in Australia plays a significant role in managing and owning road infrastructure within the public sector.
The vulnerability to climate change impacts is determined by the location of infrastructure. Physical infrastructure is significantly affected by extreme weather events caused by climate change, including hurricanes, ice and snow storms, and floods. The damage resulting from water or temperature-related factors is the main cause of
this impact. Infrastructure such as low-lying roads, ports, rail lines, and airports are particularly at risk of water-related damages (Koetse and Rietveld, 2009). Additionally, rising sea levels have resulted in increased rainfall patterns that make the country more susceptible to flooding.
The risk of climate change affects various inland freight facilities. Snowstorms, rainstorms, and river flooding can disrupt intermodal terminals, roadways, and rail lines. Rising temperatures have caused the ground to become soft, leading to bitumen cracking. This issue affects the movement of all types of freight by air, rail, or road. Additionally, low rainfall and prolonged drought can damage road foundations, making them impossible to pass through and further hindering the transportation of goods (Mills and Andrey, 2002). The impacts of climate change are expected to have repercussions on freight operations, safety, and maintenance.
Freight safety and maintenance costs have significantly increased due to extreme weather conditions and frequent icing, leading to delays (Kulesa, 2003). Vehicle crashes resulting in deaths and injuries are caused by frozen and wet pavements, while traffic congestion is caused by snow, fog, and ice. Increased maintenance costs are also a result of ice. Higher temperatures, particularly during summer, pose challenges in preserving perishable goods and reduce engine efficiency, especially for air carriers. This leads to a need for lighter loads and longer runways, resulting in added costs (Mills and Andrey, 2002). Rising sea levels are expected to make water operations less reliable and more expensive. They will also reduce bridge clearances and affect the effectiveness of port's roll on and roll off facilities during high tides (Koetse and Rietveld, 2009).
Recommendations
Projections indicate that freight emissions may triple to 13.5% by 2020. Therefore,
immediate and decisive actions are necessary to address this situation.
The methods to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from freight vary depending on the specific mode of transportation. A combination of financial incentives, regulations, and voluntary programs is needed to effectively curb these emissions. In Australia, three main strategies have been developed to address freight emissions and combat climate change: improving the efficiency of motorized vehicles, reducing the intensity of fuel emissions, and effectively managing demands.
Improving the fleet over time leads to a decrease in greenhouse emissions, which can only be achieved through the improvement of new vehicle designs to increase efficiency. By switching from higher emission conventional fuels to lower emission fuels, the levels of carbon dioxide freight emissions can be reduced. Another way to reduce freight emissions is by changing the ways of freight movement, thereby decreasing movement needs and maintaining healthy living standards. Additionally, measures can be implemented to counteract the effects of climate change on freight transportation. One approach is reengineering freight facilities to strengthen them and make them resistant to flooding and storm surges. This may involve building higher and stronger bridges that can withstand salt contamination and storm surges, as well as constructing roadways that utilize materials and techniques to prevent blowup (Ng et al, 2013).
In harbors with large tidal variations, it is recommended to replace roll-on and roll-off facilities with lift-on and lift-off facilities (McGranahan et al, 2007). Roads prone to flooding should have water removal systems and other protective structures to minimize road and rail submergence (Suarez et al, 2007).
Conclusion
Climate change has had a significant impact on freight transportation. While it has positively affected the industry by reducing crashes
associated with snow, its negative effects have led to increased uncertainties in the logistics sector. The reliability of freight transportation, especially in low-lying areas, is further threatened by extreme weather conditions and rising sea levels.
The freight and logistics industry is vital for the Australian economy, and it necessitates cooperation between the public and private sectors to tackle the challenges that this sector encounters.
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