The role of fairness in transport decarbonisation

This thesis sits on the intersection of transport decarbonisation and fairness. Given progressing climate change and the UK’s goal to reach Net Zero by 2050, all sectors need to decarbonise quickly. For transport, this marks a stark change from decades of near-constant emissions. At the same time, already now the benefits and negative effects of transport are distributed unevenly across people and places. Decarbonisation policy risks exacerbating these differences but can also be an opportunity to bring about fairer outcomes. Fairness is thus an important consideration in the context of transport decarbonisation.
The Just Transition approach with its three main tenets of recognition, procedural and distribution justice is used as a lens to study the role of fairness in transport planning as well as the perceptions of the public. It has in the past been used to study a range of complex questions around climate change and society. However, it has not previously been applied to study fairness in transport decarbonisation. Particular research gaps exist around the perspectives of the transport planners who will bring about the decarbonisation transition, and of the public whose daily lives will be affected by policy changes.
Two studies are conducted to address the research gaps: Study 1 seeks to understand the role of fairness in transport planning, through interviews with planners and document analysis of transport strategies. Study 2 explores the perceptions of the public around fair transport decarbonisation, through system-thinking based public workshops where the case study of the Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate is discussed.
The findings indicate a difference in how fairness is considered between the planners and the public. Mapping this back onto the Just Transition tenets illustrates these gaps:
Regarding recognition justice, transport planning has not yet understood the strong ties between climate change and justice implications. This brings a risk that any fairness themes might be forgotten within decarbonisation policies. In contrast, the public is well aware of how decarbonisation policies can bring unfair outcomes.
Around procedural justice, gaps are revealed on who gets to shape the transition. There are limited opportunities for the public to participate in actually meaningful consultations which have the power to shape outcomes. This risks that policies will not speak to the lived realities of many. While some of the transport planners are also aware of this, a lack of time and resources is often cited as a reason for limited engagement.
These gaps contribute to uneven distributional outcomes. Failing to recognise the fairness implications of transport decarbonisation and failing to adequately incorporate diverse perspectives and lived experiences in the development of decarbonisation polices will risk bringing about policies that are less impactful and that perpetuate existing injustices.
This thesis joins emerging conversations on just transitions particularly in the transport space. It makes novel contributions by understanding the views on and considerations of fairness by both transport planners and the public. It also builds onto systems thinking approaches to develop a new approach for studying the views of the public. In doing so, this thesis identifies gaps around the current state of fairness in transport, but also points towards ways of improving fairness.