Carbon Dioxide Emissions from Urban Road Transport in Latin America: CO2 Reduction as Co-benefit of Transport Strategies
We review aggregate trends in CO2 emissions from road transport in Latin America. Comparison with other regions, as well as with automobile ownership and use suggests that road transport emissions in this region are closely connected to high automobile ownership and use. Examination of detailed estimates of vehicle stocks, use and fuel intensity as well as data from four large metropolises in the region confirm this suggestion. The same metro data show that it is cars that are the main reason for congestion, high levels of air pollution, and other transport related externalities in urban regions. Widely cited projections of car ownership and use in 2030 suggest that car use will more than triple. Even with a 20% reduction in fuel use and emissions/km, CO2 emissions will be well above present levels. But if the fundamental problems of urban transport that plague Latin America today are addressed, car use will grow by considerably less, restraining CO2 emissions considerably as a co-benefit of transport strategies. A review of the impact of a BRT project in Mexico City shows a reduction of 10% in traffic-related emissions in the BRT corridor even without fuel and emissions being addressed directly. One third of those savings arose because Metrobus riders left cars at home and took the bus. The monetized value of the CO2 externality is small compared to other benefits of Metrobus as a transport project. Thus CO2 reduction can be evaluated as a co-benefit of a transport project. What the aggregate data suggest can thus be found by closely examining transport patterns and the resulting CO2 emissions.
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Corporate Authors:
500 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, DC United States 20001 -
Authors:
- Schipper, Lee
- Deakin, Elizabeth
- McAndrews, Carolyn
- Frick, Karen
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Conference:
- Transportation Research Board 89th Annual Meeting
- Location: Washington DC, United States
- Date: 2010-1-10 to 2010-1-14
- Date: 2010
Language
- English
Media Info
- Media Type: DVD
- Features: Figures; Photos; References; Tables;
- Pagination: 19p
- Monograph Title: TRB 89th Annual Meeting Compendium of Papers DVD
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Air quality management; Bus transit; Bus transportation; Carbon dioxide; Energy; Energy consumption; Exhaust gases; Policy making; Public transit; Sustainable development; Traffic congestion; Travel behavior; Urban areas
- Geographic Terms: Latin America; Mexico City (Mexico)
- Subject Areas: Energy; Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Public Transportation; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 01154536
- Record Type: Publication
- Report/Paper Numbers: 10-3832
- Files: TRIS, TRB
- Created Date: Apr 14 2010 7:14AM