PLANNING FOR A SUSTAINABLE EUROPE? - TU Berlin

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In related studies, car accidents appear as an individualized risk which directly
translates into a major social cost associated with this mode. The TERM reports
published by the European Environmental Agency are a perfect example of such
awareness-raising scientific “objective” reporting. Figure 4.1 shows a graph taken from
the 2001 TERM report (European Environment Agency (EEA) 2001) that is clearly
making the point that the risk of car accidents imposes exorbitant external costs on
society. The credited sources are INFRAS and IWW, two major European research
institutions which conducted an external cost study on behalf of the International Union
of Railways. The resulting policy recommendation is without doubt a decreased
dependence on individual car transport. This example illustrates how complex arguments
related to the environmental impacts of transport are effectively short-circuited through
the implicit assumption that standard cost benefit methodologies developed by major
research institutions correctly and objectively capture environmental risks and costs
associated with the different modes, even if the relevant research is clearly initiated and
paid for by a stakeholder with a vested interest in demonstrating problems associated
with car transport. 30
In sum, society has become dependent on experts to quantify, assess
and ultimately remedy the environmental and social risks associated with modern
transport systems. This prospect is disempowering to laypersons who are often
confronted with contrasting “scientific” assessments.
30 Note that I personally do not think that the INFRAS/IWW assessments are politically biased. I
nevertheless agree that it is important to point out that, in the end, all environmental cost calculations are of
course socially constructed. What exact value we attach to qualities such as equal mobility rights, clean air,
unservered landscapes and good public health is ultimately a matter of societal consensus-building and
political argumentation. Economics remains a social science.