COMCEC Transport and Communications
Outlook 2019
43
Options to mitigate transportation-related GHG emissions
Public policy actions aiming at reducing the transportation-related GHG emissions of transport
activities involve one or more of the following measures and as any other public policy action,
each measure has its own advantages or disadvantages:
● Enhancing fuel efficiency: Using less fuel to travel the same amount of distance will help
reduce GHG emissions. To achieve this, one option is to use smaller vehicles. Second option
is to increase engine efficiency and employing lighter but still safer materials. The drawback
of this option is that more fuel-efficient vehicles may stimulate higher vehicle-kilometres
which may partially off-set the fuel savings.
● Using alternative fuels: This option involves using more environmentally friendly
alternative fuels such as biofuels, natural gas, and electricity. However, using more of these
alternative energy sources have their own drawbacks. An increase in biofuel (such as
ethanol and biodiesel) use will not only threaten food security as it is likely to increase food
prices, but also increase water use and contribute to the nitrous oxide (N2O) emission
through fertilizer use. Regarding natural gas and electricity, there is still a large room to
develop more efficient, affordable and safer cars using these alternative fuels.
● Adopting environmental pricing: Following the polluter pays principle which suggests
that a pricing mechanism should be established in a way that the polluters must bear the
cost of the pollution they cause, environmental pricing schemes in transportation include
some forms of taxing the travellers. The easiest way to implement an environmental pricing
scheme is increasing the gasoline taxes. Though mainly aiming at reducing congestion,
congestion pricing can also be classified as another form of environmental pricing.
● Shifting from private car use to environmentally-friendly transport modes: The most
environmentally-friendly transportation mode is non-motorized travel and it does not only
help reduce GHG emissions, but also contribute to congestion relief and improve public
health and leads to better land use practices. The costs associated with non-motorized
travel, on the other hand, are increasing travel times and accident rates. Public transit
through buses, light rail system, and metro can also help reduce surface transport GHG
emissions. However, especially light rail system and metro require high infrastructure
investments, and transit operations may require state subsidy since transit revenues
generally fail to cover transit expenses.
● Adopting traffic restrictions : While reducing traffic congestion is the major motivation
for adopting this option, traffic restrictions are also expected to help handle transport GHG
emissions. Traffic restrictions involve driving bans based on number plates, high occupancy
vehicle lanes, congestion pricing schemes, and new plate quotas. These policies are difficult
to implement politically and may raise equity concerns.