Saving Carbon by Improving Urban Transportation and vice Versa: the Interaction of Transport Policy and Co2 Emissions

This article reviews quantitative and qualitative trends in urban transportation and environment, focusing on developing countries. Reviewing recent efforts to look at transportation, the article adopts a definition of “sustainable transportation” that includes economic and environmental sustainability as well as equity as key criteria. It is argued that governance sustainability is also important if policies and technologies are to reduce the main externalities from urban transport. An important identity is introduced to relate emissions to traffic, modal share, fuel use, and fuel characteristics, from which it is argued that transport policies must confront all of these components of the identity if emissions are to be reduced significantly. Focusing on why urban areas in developing countries have become the most polluted and congested cities in the world, the article notes addresses major barriers to serious transport sector reform that would address these ills. The pessimistic tone is lifted by citing recent examples of policies and technologies that have permitted some regions in Latin America and Asia to begin to turn the corner. It is concluded that strong actions by cities, backed by national government formulation of equipment and fuel standards and supported by private sector initiatives are all needed – together with political will – to reverse the unsustainable trends in urban transport in the largest urban areas today. The Transport Conundrum Transportation brings people and goods to people, returning enormous benefits to economies (Braudel). But transportation also brings significant undesirable side effects or externalities, particularly in urban areas and on the global environment via CO2 emissions. While its undesirable side effects have long been recognised, state efforts to tackle the transport problem have been limited because of its inherent complexity and 1 Braudel, F. "The Wheels of Commerce". In: Civilization and Capitalism , 15th 18th Century. Vol. 2, Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. 1992.