Freight Transportation and Greenhouse Gases in North America

This paper summarizes a larger study that was carried out for the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) which resulted in the “Foundation Paper” part of a larger report by the CEC under Article 13 of the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation “Towards Sustainable Freight Transportation in North America.” The objectives of the Foundation Paper, presented here in summary, were to provide a synopsis of the freight transportation system in North America as it relates to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions; investigate the state-of-the-practice in measurement/estimation of GHGs from truck and freight rail modes; examine the spectrum of available truck and rail GHG mitigation strategies; review federal, regional, state, and local programs and policies enacted to mitigate GHGs; and develop a group of short- and long-term opportunity areas for action by the North American governments to curb the growth of GHG emissions from truck and rail. The study concluded that a coherent combination of policies consisting of subsidies, regulation, and emissions pricing is the most promising approach toward mitigation of GHGs from truck and freight rail transportation. Multiple opportunity areas were identified: more rigorous public investment, freight-specific GHG regulation, dynamic cooperation with the private sector, improvement in technology transfer and technical expertise, development of alternative energy sources, and potentially emissions and carbon pricing mechanisms.

• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Authors:
  • Protopapas, Annie
  • Villa, Juan Carlos
• Conference:
  • Transportation Research Board 90th Annual Meeting
  • Location: Washington DC, United States
  • Date: 2011-1-23 to 2011-1-27
• Date: 2011

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: DVD
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 19p
• Monograph Title: TRB 90th Annual Meeting Compendium of Papers DVD

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Exhaust gases; Freight transportation; Greenhouse gases; Pollutants; Railroad transportation; Trucking
• Subject Areas: Environment; Highways; Railroads; I15: Environment; I70: Traffic and Transport;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01337522
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: 11-2068
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Apr 21 2011 1:09PM