How Can Transportation Technology and Practices Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions?

Technologies for Climate Change Mitigation: Transport Sector (250 page pdf, United Nations Environment Programme Risø Centre on Energy, Climate and Sustainable Development, March 2011)

Also discussed here: New Report: Transportation, Technology and Climate Change (The City Fix, Jul. 7, 2011)

The focus today is on a comprehensive guide to reducing greenhouse gas emissions in transportation- either through improved technologies or in reducing travel with carbon consuming vehicles by such options as transit-oriented development, road pricing or by using electric powered vehicles and many other possibilities. Comparisons are made between the developed and underdeveloped worlds and between urban areas in each.



Key Quotes:

“In 2006, transport contributed 23 percent of global CO2 emissions, and substantial increases are projected, particularly in developing countries”

“The developed world, for example, needs to overcome its car dependence, its low urban densities and highly segregated land use patterns…The developing world.. have denser,more mixed-use urban areas, less car dependence, and greater use of public transport..However, it often faces significant problems of traffic congestion, air pollution and inadequate provision and quality of transport infrastructure and services”

Some approaches:

• Increasing use of low carbon modes– walking, cycling and mass transit (trains, buses and light-rail).
• Reducing overall travel-high-density, mixed-use developments built around rail nodes, changes to urban areas so that they are denser, increased mass transit, walking and cycling
• Making current modes more low carbon: -cars, trucks, motorbikes, motor scooters and three-wheeler

taxis

• Moving goods:- rail and water-based freight, to multimodal freight trips
• Lower carbon air and water transport

“As with cars, buses in US and Canadian cities are the most energy consumptive (between 24 and 29 MJ/km, compared to an average of 16 MJ/km in all other regions”

“Urban rail modes, taken together across regions, are on average 4.6 times less energy consuming than the average car (0.54 compared to 2.45 MJ/passenger km)”

“US cities dominate in their oil consumption and car use with a significant difference between Atlanta with 103 GJ/person, Houston with 75 GJ/person and New York with 44GJ/person…Australian, Canadian and New Zealand cities follow this with 30 to 40 GJ/person.”

Related articles

• How Can Large Cities Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions (pollutionfree.wordpress.com)
• Does Better Urban Design Beat Better Car Design when it comes to Emissions? (pollutionfree.wordpress.com)
• Urban Form and Greenhouse Gas Reductions (pollutionfree.wordpress.com)
• Report: "Technologies for Climate Change Mitigation: Transport Sector" (cemmc.wordpress.com)
• ITU: ICTs key in addressing environmental sustainability (aptantech411.wordpress.com)
• Car makers 'reducing emissions' (autonetinsurance.co.uk)
• Can cities lead the way in cutting greenhouse gas emissions? [del.icio.us] (guardian.co.uk)