WINNIPEG, MB – When we head out on the highway we quickly encounter trucks criss-crossing North America in record numbers, transporting everything from fresh produce to furniture and new cars. That traffic comes at an environmental cost: The transportation sector contributes approximately 26% of total greenhouse gas emissions in North America, and at least a quarter of that share is related to transporting freight.
The Secretariat of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) has embarked on a new study to evaluate opportunities for making freight transportation more sustainable in North America.
The CEC has assembled an advisory group of representatives from transportation industries, nongovernmental organizations, and government agencies to produce a Sustainable Freight Transportation in North America Report. Lloyd Axworthy, President and Vice Chancellor, The University of Winnipeg and a former Canadian Minister of Transport will chair the advisory group.
The Home Depot, Wal-Mart, FedEx, Pollution Probe, the American Trucking Association, the Railway Association of Canada and the Mexican Institute of Transport will be among the companies and organizations represented on the advisory group.
“Freight transportation is inextricably linked with trade in North America,” said Axworthy. “Making our modes of transportation and the infrastructure that support them cleaner and more efficient would have a dramatic impact on North America ‘s competitiveness internationally while helping to meet our environmental commitments.”
Goal of study
Billions of tons of goods are moved every year across North America. Two-thirds of these goods are moved by truck and most of the rest by rail, giving the freight sector a significant environmental footprint.
The goal of the study is to identify broad regional action to support more sustainable freight transportation throughout the region by 2030 and recommend policies to achieve those goals.
As with other reports initiated by the CEC Secretariat under the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation’s Article 13, the freight transportation study will consider input from interested members of the public, as well as from the three NAFTA governments – Canada, the United States and Mexico. The final report is expected by mid-2010.
More information and supporting documents can be found at: www.cec.org/freight
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Diane Poulin, Communications Officer,
The University of Winnipeg
P: 204.988.7135,
E: d.poulin@uwinnipeg.ca
