Chance or coincidence puts Shepparton in step with international goals

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hepparton people banded together on Thursday, well about 150 of them, to demand the State Government provided the city with better rail transport.

Some of those among the pyjama-clad train travellers would have been eager to see trains used as the easily outstrip private transport with regard carbon dioxide emissions, while others sought only travel convenience, being another marker in Shepparton’s maturation.

By coincidence or chance, this push for improved rail transport to and from the Goulburn Valley comes as there is an international initiative aimed at ensuring the creation of more low-carbon transport.

Transport Ministers participating in the International Transport Forum (ITF) Annual Summit agreed in their Declaration from Ministers on Transport, Trade and Tourism on the value of pursuing low-carbon transport towards COP21.

The summit’s declaration says the Ministers, “Recognize that the new international climate agreement, which is to be forged and agreed by COP21, should encourage mainstreaming of low carbon transport in global policies on climate change and sustainable development.”

A report from the summit - “Transport Ministers from 54 countries call for global policies to mainstream low-carbon transport” – said, “Company CEOs, transport initiative leaders and government representatives discussed strategies and innovations to mitigate transport-related climate change impacts related to trade and tourism during this session.

“Ministers from the EU, France, the Netherlands, Norway, the UK, and others shared detailed and ambitious plans on transport advancing climate action.”