Paul Winton is an engineer and investment advisor, working mostly in the North Island.
About 50 attendees were energized by his evidence-backed strategic approach to decarbonizing transport. He ensured his audience understood the extreme urgency of reducing emissions, and that transport was going to have to do the ‘heavy lifting’ on the pathway down. He believes we need to decarbonize transport at about 10% each year (which closely agrees with NTCF’s own calculations on rate of decarbonization.) He was skeptical about the Climate Change Commission’s pathways as being insufficient.
Paul Winton has applied a modelling tool to various transport interventions to see what combination will do the job of lowering emissions. Surprisingly, the large, costly interventions such as light rail have a relatively small impact. The lower cost interventions of making the city safe for cycling and improved public transport have the largest impact. Reducing city sprawl is part of the planning picture.
Paul founded the 1.5 Project to support his work in this area. He identified the 40 people who are likely to have the most influence on future transport and systematically offered dialogue to them. He built understanding with talented journalists. He educated decision-makers on the realities of climate change and the possibilities of transport in mitigation. He talked to schools concerned with the safety of children.
Jane Murray of TDC gave us some details of Healthy Street plans being implemented by the councils.
Together they sketched a pathway for us in NTCF and Nelsust (the joint hosts of this event) to move forwards on this highly important task.
Joanna Santa Barbara