Mobility hubs and change to Ireland’s ‘car-centric mindsets’ needed, says OECD

The OECD has launched a major report in which it makes recommendations for how Ireland can halve the carbon emissions in its transport sector by 2030.

The report found that Ireland could unleash “enormous opportunities” by prioritising policies that could transform its “car-dependent” system, including an improvement to wellbeing as well as a reduction in emissions.

Its recommendations include road space reallocation, making on-demand shared services more mainstream and increasing communication efforts to change people’s “car-centric mindsets”.

“Currently, these policies are marginal and implemented on a small scale,” the OECD report found.

It also found that a lot of advertising by the private sector – in particular the automobile industry – “reinforces car-centric mindsets, and may undermine the effectiveness of the Irish Government’s communication strategy in favour of sustainable transport systems”.

It cited evidence that showed “car-centric” advertising receives seven to eight times more funding than communication about sustainable transport options.

The report, Redesigning Ireland’s Transport for Net Zero: Towards systems that work for people and the planet, was commissioned by the Climate Change Advisory Council.

As part of the project, the OECD carried out interviews with stakeholders in Dublin city and Cork city, as well as counties Kildare and Sligo.

It also recommended the use of “mobility hubs” – these are locations where a range of transport options are offered, such as a train station, a bus stop and a location for bike rental.

“In rural and suburban areas, a mobility hub would probably offer park and ride, as a complement to bus and/or train services and rental bikes or scooters,” it said.

The report also said that the electrification strategy should prioritise walking, cycling, “micro-mobility and high occupancy and shared travel where larger vehicles are the only option”.

It concluded that it would be “relevant” to reflect its recommendations in the approaching update of the Climate Action Plan.

Minister for Transport and the Environment Eamon Ryan, environment director of the OECD Jo Tyndall, and chair of the Climate Change Advisory Council Marie Donnelly are to attend the launch of the report in Dublin.

Ahead of the launch, Ms Tyndall said the report looks at “how can the transport system work for both people and the planet”.

“This report is focused on a challenge faced by Ireland, and by every other OECD country: how to make sure the transport system increases people’s wellbeing while producing sustainable levels of emissions,” she said.

“Policymakers can play a huge role, and the opportunity is there for them to design and implement meaningful and integrated policy packages that prioritise transformative actions and deliver the emissions reductions required.”

Ms Donnelly said the recent fuel price volatility has shown “the risk of remaining tied to fossil fuel transport and high energy consumption”.

“Reducing car dependence through a balanced suite of measures can reduce energy bills, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, enhance wellbeing and help achieve the sector’s emissions targets,” she said.

“It is not just about moving to more sustainable modes of transport, but understanding the linkages between planning, transport, policy and economic interventions that can assist the climate challenge, improve our health and be of benefit to everyone in Ireland regardless of geographical location or economic means.”

The targets to cut emissions in key areas of the Irish economy were agreed by the Government before the summer recess, with a cut of 25% set for the agricultural sector and a 75% cut for the energy sector.