EEA Report Studies Six Successful Local and Regional Transport Policy Efforts for GHG Reduction

21 March 2008

A range of policy instruments for the transport sector that can be used to implement measures that reduce GHG emissions and alleviate other environmental problems. Click to enlarge

The European Environment Agency (EEA) has released a report on six road transport policy projects—implemented in the Netherlands, the Czech Republic and the United Kingdom—that have helped to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

The projects, which also helped improve air quality and reduce noise, are not based on new vehicle technology. Measures include replacing business travel with teleconferencing, limiting driving speed, promoting behavioral change with ecodriving, introducing congestion charges and environmental zones, and improving energy efficiency by means of freight consolidation centers.

The EEA study seeks to identify local and regional efforts to boost the transition towards low carbon transport in Europe, encouraging alternatives to existing options for both private passengers and freight operators. The report—Success stories within the road transport sector on reducing greenhouse gas emission and producing ancillary benefits—also discusses some factors that are essential for the projects to be successful such as cost effectiveness, the important role of local authorities, public relations and the media.

By presenting such projects, other countries and cities might be encouraged to implement similar measures. Similar measures should and could be implemented elsewhere. However, additional measures, including demand management, must be implemented to face the challenges of the medium and long-term climate change targets and develop an environmentally sustainable transport system.

—Jan Karlsson, European Environment Agency

The six projects reported on are:

• Ecodrive program, Netherlands. In 2004, eco-driving resulted in a reduction in CO₂ emission of between 97,000 and 222,000 tonnes. Although the program has the potential to have a positive effect on the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, further driver training and promotion of the program will be needed to maintain reduced fuel consumption. To instill the ecodriving principles at an early stage, they should be incorporated in new driver tests.

• Speed control measure, Rotterdam. This measure reduced emissions in a targeted area (a 3.5 kilometer stretch of highway) by reducing and strictly enforcing speed limits. Here, CO₂ was reduced by 15% (a saving of approximately 1,000 tonnes) in the first year of scheme operation. However, more widespread controls on speed are required to achieve CO₂ emission reduction on a larger scale.

• Congestion charging, London: The congestion charging scheme in London has been successful in terms of discouraging private car use in favor of public transport, cycling and walking. As a result, scheme implementation achieved a reduction of 16.4% in CO₂ emission in 2003 compared to the previous year (prior to scheme implementation). Similar schemes have been successfully implemented in other cities for example in Stockholm, Oslo and Trondheim. For the two latter cities the main purpose of the scheme was to raise revenues.

• Environmental zone, Prague. The environmental zone in Prague has been successful in reducing emissions from heavy vehicles entering the city center area through weight restrictions (estimated reductions of 1,650 tonnes CO₂ per year). The measure has encouraged the use of more suitable routes for heavy vehicles, the purchasing/upgrading of fleets to comply with more stringent emission standards or application for permits to enter the city. Environmental zones, or low-emission zones/clear zones, have been implemented in a range of European cities. Sweden was one of the early adopters and aimed at heavy vehicles, in Stockholm, Malmo and Gothenburg. As in Prague, the zones were enforced through a permit system with manual inspection. At the moment, schemes are being considered in Berlin and London.

• Freight Construction Consolidation Center, London. The Freight Consolidation Center has been successful in minimizing the number of larger or half-empty freight vehicles servicing construction centres in the London area by consolidating deliveries and using the just-in-time delivery principle. Compared to the trips that would have previously been made, it is estimated that CO₂ emission has been reduced by 75%. Similar freight consolidation centers have been implemented extensively throughout Europe, including in Germany, Spain, Sweden, the Netherlands, France and the United Kingdom.

• Teleconferencing, the United Kingdom. The use of teleconferencing enabled British Telecom to reduce the impact of its business-related travel, both within the United Kingdom and internationally. For 2006 it was calculated that the use of various teleconferencing technologies to replace trips led to a reduction in CO₂ emission of just under 100,000 tonnes. However, it is not expected that teleconferencing will replace all business travel within this company, and may not be suitable for other businesses where face-to-face meetings are a necessity.

The authors of the report noted that while it was difficult to find projects that had been designed to achieve certain precise targets on greenhouse gas emission reduction, the case studies gathered in the report indicated that it may be possible to achieve such reductions in a cost-efficient way and at the same time achieve ancillary benefits. The report also includes some general recommendations and observations:

• Implementation of accompanying measures is often necessary to achieve full benefit from the projects. These supporting measures may be in the form of additional or alternative public transport services, increases in parking restrictions or prices, access restrictions for certain types of vehicles, introduction of other fees and taxes, and awareness campaigns.

• Strong leadership or strong political acceptance is necessary especially for measures that initially seem controversial, particularly if they result in travel restriction.

• Awareness-raising about the potential benefits when implementing measures are crucial. Awareness raising may be targeted at the public and various media—including printed and television campaigns, the private sector, transport operators, retail, government departments and other stakeholders.

• Many factors can affect the success of measures, for example differences in geography, population density, cultural aspects and affluence. Key issues that should be taken into consideration when considering the possibilities of transfer to other cities, regions or countries include the geographic scale, technological and resource requirements, potential legislation, awareness and acceptance issues and operating features.

Resources

• Success stories within the road transport sector on reducing greenhouse gas emission and producing ancillary benefits