Environmental Aspects of Sustainable Mobility - Transport Research ...

2001 Transport White Paper has changed. To be able to adapt the instruments of the 2001White Paper to the new context, the European Commission has identified the need foradditional policy tools to help ensure that these changes can be achieved.Three sub-themes are considered in the synthesis of the findings from research projects.The first sub-theme relates to the assessment of the environmental impacts associatedwith transport. A wide range of methodologies has been developed and tested for suchassessment, often based on Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) or Multi-Criteria Analysis (MCA),and many have been implemented as tools available to other analysts and researchers.Such tools are often spreadsheet based and increasingly available online. The costsimposed on society by the environmental impacts are typically shown to be high but varysignificantly depending on mode, on circumstance and by location. Global warming isidentified as an increasingly severe problem.The second sub-theme is concerned with reviewing potential strategies for the mitigationand abatement of environmental problems. The key finding from research in this field isthat such mitigation requires not only significant research and development of newtransport technologies, but also considerable changes in operating practices in thetransport industry as well as changes in transport behaviour, both in the shorter termthrough mode switching and in the longer term, such as through changes in land-useplanning.The final sub-theme reviews research into the development, encouragement and use ofmore environment-friendly forms of transport. Findings highlight the need for moreresearch into new environment-friendly transport technologies, across all modes. Inaddition, innovations such as car sharing or car pooling schemes can help to reduceenvironmental impacts, and there is also considerable scope for greater use of nonmotorisedmodes of transport (walking and cycling), especially in urban areas.The implications of research findings for policymaking and future research activities havealso been considered.Thematic Research Summary: “Environmental Aspects of Sustainable Mobility” Page: 9 of 48Transport Research Knowledge Centre