September 21, 2009 4:15PM
“Transportation toward Low Carbon Society”
A Statement by EA-RTM: Nagoya, Japan, September 25, 2009
The Engineering Academies of Japan, China and Korea jointly held a symposium on a critical issue of “Transportation toward Low Carbon Society” in Nagoya, Japan on September 24, 2009 as part of their 13th East Asia Round Table Meeting of Academies of Engineering (EA-RTM).
CO2 emissions from transportation modes are currently responsible for 10-20% of the total CO2 emissions in East Asian countries and it is critically important to reduce these emissions, particularly in consideration of the rapidly increasing number of automobiles in East Asia.
Sharing a common awareness of the need to reduce CO2 emissions and a strong sense of commitment as Engineering Academies to address this globally important issue, the symposium engaged in comprehensive discussions which considered the impact of technologies, human factors, social systems and policy.
As an outcome of the discussions at the symposium, the three academies unanimously agreed upon the following recommendations in order to appeal to the industries, academe and government authorities of their own countries and, further, to those of other countries through member academies of the International Council of Academies of Engineering and Technological Sciences (CAETS).
Recommendations
1. To meet challenging targets of CO2 reduction, state-of-the-art scientific advancements and development and deployment of innovative, interdisciplinary technologies must be accelerated.
2. A bio-mimetic approach, inspired by living organisms, offers a potential paradigm shift towards minimum energy (minimum CO2 emissions) transportation modes in the future and should be explored.
3. In addition to technological improvements of automobiles, trains and other transportation modes, factors such as driver behavior, design of urban transportation systems and a policy framework that promotes all these factors in a balanced and harmonious manner must be considered.
4. East Asian countries should cooperate to promote the innovations necessary for low-carbon transportation and the standardization of the novel technologies and systems developed. The three Engineering Academies will exert concerted efforts to support implementation of such measures.
5. The private sector should proactively cooperate to realize such innovations with the support and involvement of East Asian and global governments to promote sustainable growth in East Asia as well as on a global scale.
Issued by: The Engineering Academy of Japan
The Chinese Academy of Engineering
The National Academy of Engineering of Korea