Transportation Efficiency Evaluation Considering the Environmental Impact for China’s Freight Sector: A Parallel Data Envelopment Analysis

The role of a low carbon fuel standard in achieving long-term GHG reduction targets

Reducing emissions in the freight sector is a key focus in China's pursuit of sustainability. Previous studies have not adequately addressed the complex interplay between freight activity, commodity movements, and geographical distances in evaluating mitigation policies. Here, we developed a new distance‐based computable general equilibrium (CGE) model to address the freight costs between regions, enabling a detailed analysis of the spatial trade patterns, production relocation, and environmental impacts of different carbon tax scenarios on the freight sector. We found that a substantial carbon tax collection (700 CNY/ton CO2 by 2025) could reduce China's total freight turnover by 1.60% and cut industry‐wide CO2 emission by approximately 200 million tons (accounting for 1.8% of total CO2 emissions in China). The response to freight carbon tax varies with distance: longer bilateral trade distances experience a sharper decline in freight volume, while shorter intra‐provincial and neighboring interprovincial trade becomes more prosperous. Production activity tends to relocate to regions closer to customers and suppliers under the carbon tax, and each additional 1,000 km trade distance is associated with 0.3–1.2% reduction in provincial production. By integrating a spatial dimension into a CGE framework, our study elucidates how freight cost redistributes policy costs and benefits across regions, offering a more nuanced foundation for the design of targeted, regionally balanced carbon tax policies in China's freight decarbonization strategy.

The global economy requires globalized movement of goods. Freight transport operations need to be efficient, productive, safe and secure, clean and green. The use of ICT and ITS (intelligent transport systems) are addressing these challenges by developing more rapid, more reliable and more precisely timed strategies for freight transport. This books reviews recent developments in the field of ITS for freight logistics, covering relevant technologies, applications, approaches and standards. Chapters address the following topics: introduction to mobility of goods and freight logistics; global logistics visibility; global logistics standards development for using on marine container terminals; supply chain and RFID technologies; international data exchange solutions for transport and logistics; city logistics; the UK freight and logistics sector; implementation and application; and logistics IoT in Thailand. Written by an international team of contributors, and edited by an expert in the field, this book is aimed at students and researchers in ITS and ICT for transport applications, policy makers and practitioners such as system architects, system engineers, and managers in the freight transport industry, and anyone involved in the design, developments and implementation of new ICT and ITS technologies in the freight sector.

Study of the environmental Kuznets curve for transport carbon dioxide emissions in Saudi Arabia

The transition towards a low-carbon transport sector (TS) plays a fundamental role on the decarbonisation of economies. The effects of both conventional (fossil fuels) and alternative (renewable fuels and electricity) energy consumption in the transport sector, economic growth, and carbon dioxide emissions were analysed by using a panel vector autoregressive of 21 high-income Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development countries from 1990 to 2014. The results support the feedback hypothesis between both conventional and alternative TS energy sources and economic growth. In other words, electricity use on TS has enlarged the economic growth, while consumption of renewable fuels is actually hampering it. Additionally, TS fossil fuels consumption is contributing to economic growth. With reference to the environmental impacts of TS energy use, this paper highlights the harmful effect of conventional energy sources on the environment. However, there is no evidence wherein TS alternative energy sources are directly linked with a reduction of carbon dioxide emissions. Accordingly, the promotion of alternative TS energy sources should deserve further attention. On the one hand, there is evidence that the use of renewable fuels is obstructing economic growth. On the other hand, the use of both TS electricity and renewable fuels is not reducing carbon dioxide emissions.

The indirect economic impact of rail freight transport: An input–output case study for Belgium

In this paper, optimized models based on two different machine learning (ML) methods were developed to forecast the transport energy consumption (TEC) and carbon dioxide (CO<sub>2</sub>) emissions in Morocco by 2030. More precisely, artificial neural networks (ANN) and support vector regression (SVR) were used for modelling non-linear TEC and CO<sub>2</sub> emissions data. This study uses data from 1990 to 2020 and employs various independent parameters, including population, gross domestic product, urbanization rate, evolution of the number of vehicles, and the number of electric vehicle introductions. Four statistical metrics are derived to assess the effectiveness of the ML algorithms used. The forecasts for 2030 were based on six scenarios, including three scenarios for the growth of gross domestic product (GDP) and two scenarios for the evolution of electric cars’ introduction into Moroccan vehicle fleet. The ANN model outputs showed that a decrease in TEC and CO<sub>2</sub> emissions is expected until 2030. However, the SVR model predicts outputs values close to those in 2020. The study's results also indicate that: i) TEC and transport CO<sub>2</sub> emissions are positively impacted by economic growth in Morocco and ii) electric vehicles will be essential components enabling substantial reductions in overall CO<sub>2</sub> emissions in future transport systems.

The low-carbon development of the transportation sector is crucial for China to achieve its national goals of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality. Since China is a vast country with unbalanced regional development, there are considerable differences in the levels of carbon dioxide emissions from the transportation sector across regions. Therefore, revealing the influencing factors that shape the characteristics of transportation carbon dioxide emissions (TCO2) can inform tailored sub-national carbon reduction strategies based on local conditions, which is an important technical approach for achieving national goals. Based on an extended Kaya identity, we derived indicators of the impacts on provincial TCO2 from factors such as economic development, population density, energy structure, transportation efficiency, technology research and development (R&D), infrastructure construction, transportation operation conditions, and residents’ transportation behavior. Using a multi-indicator joint characterization method, we explored the characteristics of provincial TCO2 in China in 2019. By applying Ward’s method to hierarchical clustering, the thirty provinces of China were classified into six characteristic types (Types I to VI). Based on the total TCO2 (TC), the intensity of TCO2 (TI), and the per capita TCO2 (TP) calculated for each province in 2019, the priority control directions and indicators for carbon reduction in each type were obtained through relative relationships with provincial averages and correlation analysis with the indicators. Specifically, Type I and Type IV can be categorized as TP-controlled, Type II and Type III as TC-controlled, and Type V and Type VI as TI-controlled. Finally, we provided typological strategies and key performance indicators (KPIs) relevant to local governments to better achieve carbon reduction goals in each provincial type. It can promote cooperative development and collaborative governance in carbon reduction across regions and the unified implementation of China’s dual-carbon goals.

The objective of this research is to examine the relationship between transport energy consumption, economic growth, and carbon dioxide emission (CO2) from transport sector incorporating foreign direct investment and urbanization. This study is carried out in Pakistan by applying autoregressive distributive lag (ARDL) and vector error correction model (VECM) over 1990-2015. Theempirical results indicate a strong significant impact of transport energy consumption on CO2 emissions from the transportation sector. Furthermore, foreign direct investment also contributes to CO2 emission. Interestingly, the impact of economic growth and urbanization on transport CO2 emission is statistically insignificant. Overall, transport energy consumption and foreign direct investment are not environmentally friendly. The new empirical evidence from this study provides a complete picture of the determinants of emissions from the transport sector and these novel findings not only help to advance the existing literature but also can be of special interest to the country's policymakers. So, we urge that government needs to focus on promoting the energy efficient means of transportation to improve environmental quality with less adverse influence on economic growth.

Decarbonizing the transport sector is a crucial challenge in achieving global and regional climate goals. In Europe, the Green Deal and the "Fit for 55" package set ambitious greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets. In this context, the transport sector, with an emphasis on road transport, plays a pivotal role in the transition to climate neutrality. This paper presents a systematic review of the recent scientific literature, focusing on studies that assess the decarbonization of road transport through quantitative evaluation methods and models. Selected studies were classified according to three main dimensions: (i) the analytical approach and model used, (ii) the type of transport considered (freight, passenger, or both), and (iii) the technologies and strategies adopted, in line with the Avoid–Shift–Improve (ASI) framework. Five main categories emerged from the review: bottom-up estimation approaches, integrated energy–transport models/applications, well-to-wheel (WtW) and life cycle assessment (LCA) perspective and whole-system intersectoral models. Most of the studies focus on the “Improve” pillar, investigating the impact of advanced technologies such as electrification, alternative fuels, logistic optimization, and policy mixes. Despite the diversity of methods and models, the reviewed studies converge on a common conclusion: current policy and technological trajectories are insufficient to meet climate targets, especially in the freight sector, which is consistently identified as “hard-to-abate”. The findings reveal a progressive shift towards more integrated and multidisciplinary approaches that more effectively capture the complexities of transport transitions. The review aims at offering a comparative and systematized assessment of the scientific landscape, supporting public policy and industrial strategies that align with sustainable mobility goals.

Adoption of the Paris Agreement in December 2015 and its subsequent ratification through Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) marked, among other things, India’s commitment to reduce the emission intensity of its GDP by 33–35 per cent by 2030 from 2005 level. The transport sector, being the prime conduit of production value-chain, has been a major contributor to global energy-related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In this context, it is critical production research study that needs to evaluate the linkage of NDC with freight transport. The proposed framework consists of goal setting, seeking expert opinion and driving insights into the field of freight transport. First, goal and criteria or attribute for achieving NDC through the freight sector are identified. Next, expert opinions from transport and climate change specialists are sought. Lastly, results and insights related to the most feasible alternatives, such as heavy road, heavy rail, hybrid, heavy waterborne, and heavy air with regard to the select attributes and its sub-attributes viz, slower growth, structural changes in sector and economy, strategic and operational choices, technology and innovation and regulatory and economic instruments with the help of fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP) are drawn. The strength of the proposed methodology is that it uses FAHP to prescribe definitive solutions to climate change policymakers and logistics and supply chain managers who otherwise would have found difficulties with such an arcane subject having partial and little quantified information.

Author(s): Giuliano, Genevieve | Abstract: The METRANS Transportation Center is working with California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), the California Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development, and the California Air Resources Board to implement the economic competitiveness provisions of the California Sustainable Freight Action Plan (CSFAP).The CSFAP aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) by establishing targets for freight efficiency and the transition to zero emission trucks by 2030. The CSFAP also calls for improving the economic competitiveness of the freight sector. It requires that an industry stakeholder group be convened to establish metrics and targets for economic competitiveness.This brief summarizes the research support that METRANS has been providing to this stakeholder group. The first phase of the work was to establish a framework for measuring economic competitiveness and establishing a 2030 target. METRANS has taken a deliberate approach in order to achieve consensus among the stakeholders and assure that the process would result in meaningful metrics.View the NCST Project Webpage

IntroductionClimate change caused by carbon emission and their impact on social and economic system have garnered global attention, particularly from the world's largest emitters. Therefore, knowledge of both driving factors and reduction potential for carbon emission is crucial to revise climate policies. The transportation industry plays a major in global carbon emissions, mostly due to the excessive utilization of fossil fuels for combustion purposes.MethodsThe goal of this study is to investigate the underlying causes that drive carbon emissions in China's Yangtze River Basin. Additionally, this study seeks to anticipate the future potential reduction in carbon emission. To achieve these, our research used a combination of the LMDI method and Monte Carlo simulation.Results and discussionThe results indicate that, during 2006 to 2020, transportation carbon emission increased from 48.41 Mt to 104.37 Mt, following an annual growth rate of 5.64%, which suggests that energy strategies are not fully implemented as planned. The greatest positive impact on carbon emission is attributed to economic development, as the increase in resident income has led to the vigorous development of the transportation sector. Moreover, energy intensity and transportation efficiency have a negative influence on carbon emissions. The decrease of carbon emissions can be accomplished by the continued advancement of novel energy technologies and the optimization of energy systems. According to the baseline scenario, it is projected that carbon emissions from the transport sector will reach 198.76 Mt by the year 2030. Under the moderate scenario, there is a possibility for reducing emissions by 18.6 Mt, and under the advanced scenario, the potential reduction is estimated to be 48.84 Mt. As a view to suppress the increase of carbon emission from transportation, a set of plans and policies must be implemented from demand-side and supply-side, including improving transportation efficiency, and optimizing energy structure, etc.

Purpose – The UK road freight sector is an example of an economically important sector that can be viewed from two different perspectives with regards to climate change: firstly, as a significant contributor to the problem in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, and secondly as a likely recipient of significant impacts (both positive and negative) of any resulting change in climate, especially any increase in extreme weather. It is this relatively neglected second perspective, freight as a vulnerable sector, which is explored.Methodology/approach – The way in which the freight sector develops in the future will be explored both in terms of the future type of freight operations and potential changes in vehicle technology.Findings – There is a need to understand how the overlying socio-economic scenario influences the development of the freight sector.Originality/value – The examination of the impact of climate change on the freight sector is a particularly original aspect of this chapter.

Costs and potentials of reducing CO2 emissions in China's transport sector: Findings from an energy system analysis