[sustran] [NewMobilityCafe] cities quantify emissions from reductions from transport solutions

Eric Britton eric.britton at ecoplan.org
Fri Sep 12 17:37:49 JST 2008


Thanks to Lee Schipper for the heads-up

 

Measuring the Invisible

New EMBARQ publications help cities quantify emissions from reductions from
transport solutions

  _____  

 

Friday, September 05, 2008 | Washington, DC, United States

http://embarq.wri.org/imageupload/Hanoi_motos.jpg 

As transportation demand continues to rise at unprecedented rates, the need
to compare alternative transport policies and their impacts on both CO2
emissions and local air pollution is becoming more and more critical.  

The challenge of quantifying these impacts, however, has hindered
transparent and well-informed decision making. To address this barrier,
EMBARQ/WRI has developed three case studies that illustrate methods for
quantifying emissions from transportation solutions.

*       Queretaro, Mexico
<http://embarq.wri.org/en/Article.aspx?id=140#Queretaro>  

*       Porto Alegre, Brazil
<http://embarq.wri.org/en/Article.aspx?id=140#PA>  

*       Hanoi, Vietnam <http://embarq.wri.org/en/Article.aspx?id=140#Hanoi> 

 

CO2 and air pollutant emissions can be greatly reduced by improving cities'
transportation systems, but accurately measuring these reductions can be a
challenge.


Queretaro, Mexico 


 http://embarq.wri.org/imageupload/WRI_EMBARQ_Quetaro-508C_Eng.jpg 

Like many fast growing medium-sized cities, Queretaro, a UNESCO World
Heritage Site in the center of Mexico, must upgrade its public
transportation system if it wishes to avoid succumbing to unmanageable
levels of traffic congestion.

EMBARQ/WRI worked with the city of Queretaro to quantify the emissions from
the city's existing bus system, and showed that introducing a Bus Rapid
Transit (BRT) system and improving the efficiency of the bus network could
yield substantial emissions reductions. Introducing alternative fuel and
vehicle and emission control technologies, on the other hand, were predicted
to yield few additional reductions.

 

 
<http://embarq.wri.org/documentupload/EMBARQ_Measuring_the_Invisible_Quetaro
.pdf> Queretaro Case Study >>

 

--


Porto Alegre, Brazil 


http://embarq.wri.org/imageupload/WRI_EMBARQ_PortoAlegre-508C.jpg

Porto Alegre, a medium size city in the State of Rio Grande do Sul in
Brazil, is planning to implement a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor and a
fare integration scheme to reduce the number of buses and terminals in the
city center and to increase bus ridership. EMBARQ/WRI worked with local
partners to estimate the impact of these two proposed initiatives on air
pollutants and CO2 emissions in the city. 

The results of this case study showed that the BRT system would reduce
emissions by 25-31 thousand tones of CO2 per year, when compared to the
business as usual scenario with fare integration.  Interestingly, the study
estimated that the fare integration plan, if implemented on its own, could
actually increase emissions. Further analysis shows that cleaner fuels and
emission control technologies would have a significant impact if applied to
fleets with high annual mileage, such as the municipal or the metropolitan
bus fleets.

 

 
<http://embarq.wri.org/documentupload/EMBARQ_Measuring_the_Invisible_PortoAl
egre.pdf> Porto Alegre Case Study >>

 


 



  _____  




Hanoi, Vietnam


 http://embarq.wri.org/imageupload/WRI_EMBARQ_Hanoi-508C_Eng-1.jpg 

Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, has a transport master plan that provides
alternative scenarios for the City's transport system. EMBARQ/WRI and local
partners studied how these scenarios would impact on air pollutant and CO2
emissions. The results of the analysis show that if government officials
decide to further promote public transportation and to mandate stricter fuel
quality and vehicle emission standards, it will be possible to stabilize
emissions in 2020 at 2005 levels, while still ensuring the same level of
mobility to Hanoi residents.

Nevertheless, without measures to restrain the growth in overall vehicle
traffic - particularly that of private cars - fuel use and transport
emissions will grow significantly. A continued shift from two-wheelers to
cars will mean an enormous increase in fuel use, even if the cars are very
efficient. Such a shift is expected to cause enormous congestion problems
because of the lack of space in Hanoi. 

 

 
<http://embarq.wri.org/documentupload/EMBARQ_Measuring_the_Invisible_Hanoi.p
df> Hanoi Case Study >>

 



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