Transportation of people and goods over both long and short distances is integral to modern society, making it fundamental to the way humans interact. Possibly the most realised greenhouse gas emission source within the community is thus that due to the fuel usage associated with transport. That is, the burning of fossil fuels, primarily through the internal combustion engine, for the purpose of powering vehicles, for a variety of transportation purposes.
Fossil fuels have in recent times been the cheapest, most reliable and most efficient power source for this element of society, thus leading to what could be considered an over use and a reliance on their existence. There is thus a large potential for reductions in emissions resulting from this societal trait, both by altering the culture surrounding transportation as well as the technology powering the industry.
terms of the usage of fuel types within the inventory scope. The primary modes of transport considered are thus from road vehicles, using common fuels such as petrol, diesel and LPG.
Fuel usage due to transport is most easily quantifiable in terms of volume, for each type of fuel, over the specified period of time. Given approximate volume usages it is a simple matter of applying conversion factors to the respective fuel types in order to estimate the contribution of associated greenhouse gas to the atmosphere by the scoped geographical area. This is therefore the key strategy adopted by the present study for assessing this primary, common emission source. Volumes for fuel usage maybe estimated by means of a number of differ- ent methodologies. The present study employs the use of two such approaches. Firstly, since the transportation sector is identified as an industry classification within ANZSIC, the methodology presented in section 5.3 is valid. This however neglects any fuel usage due to transport within the residential sector or within industry that is not specifically transport focused. It is thus likely to significantly under estimate the true values and hence another methodology is adopted as the primary methodology, with the ANZSIC methodology being employed for valida- tion purposes only.
Data representing the transport industry is obtained directly from the Aus- tralian Bureau of Statistics [Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2007]. This data is presented in terms of a number of parameters including vehicle type, vehicle use, fuel consumption and average fuel efficiency.
The percentage of vehicle use within Tasmania, compared to that within Australia, is derived for each defined vehicle use, as defined by Australian Bureau of Statistics [2007]. This is based on total kilometres travelled within Tasmania and Australia for each vehicle use.
Tabulated data relating vehicle type to vehicle use, in terms of kilometres travelled within Australia, is then multiplied through by these percentages, thus providing an estimation of the number of kilometres travelled for each vehicle type
and use. Refer to table C.1 for this data.
The fuel type to vehicle use data is then converted into percentages of the total fuel consumption for each vehicle type. As this data is obtained in terms of Australia as a whole, an assumption is made here that these percentages are the same for the case of Tasmania and then for the case of Brighton. Similarly for the fuel efficiency data, an assumption is made that this is equivalent throughout Australia for any given vehicle type. Refer to table C.2.
By multiplying the total kilometres travelled in Tasmania by the percentage of total fuel consumption and then by the average rate of fuel consumption for that fuel type for each vehicle type, values are obtained for the total fuel consumption in Tasmania, for each fuel, per vehicle use.
This is then multiplied through by the percentage of population in Brighton with respect to Tasmania. An assumption is made here that vehicle usage is equivalent throughout the state of Tasmania. Refer to table C.3.
Since this data is separated into vehicle usage, the summation of totals for each fuel type can be made for the residential sector and the business sector (in- cluding industrial, commercial and agricultural) separately. Applying the working population profile methodology to the business total provides a break down into the sectors as adopted by the present study. Refer to table C.4 for fuel usage due to transport results.
Conversion factors are then applied to obtain values for the associated mass
ofCO2e.
There is a fundamental difference between the approach adopted here and that adopted by the CCP inventory methodology. That is, here fuel usage due to transportation is considered as a primary and common emission source and thus may be attributed to all community sectors. The CCP approach considers transportation as a sector of the community in itself and thus a total, summed value for each of the fuel types is all that is required. It is thus not possible to compare the methodologies in terms of numerical outcomes.