Propuestas para construir gobernanza en la Amazonia a través del transporte sostenible: Análisis de la eficacia del programa para la gestión ambiental y social de los impactos indirectos del corredor vial interoceánico sur - tramos 2,3 y4

DAR - Derecho ambiente y recursos naturales
Noviembre 2010

"Las carreteras son indiscutiblemente necesarias. Las nuevas que unen el Brasil con los países andinos atravesando los últimos refugios relativamente intocados de la Amazonía no son una excepción. Las obras viales no son, por sí mismas, destructoras del entorno natural ni de las culturas tradicionales. En realidad, se trata apenas de una faja de pocas decenas de metros de ancho aunque, eso sí, son muy largas. Esas fajas, por ser deforestadas, asfaltadas y transitadas son obviamente un obstáculo para la fauna silvestre.

También pueden no ser del agrado de indígenas no contactados u otros que preferirían no ser disturbados. Pero, es incontestable que si las leyes fueran respetadas el problema de las carreteras se limitaría a poco más que los mencionados aunque, especialmente en condiciones montañosas, esos pueden ser importantes." - Marc Dourojeanni

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Towards a Green Economy: Pathways to Sustainable Development and Poverty Eradication

UNEP
November 2011

The Green Economy Report is compiled by UNEP’s Green Economy Initiative in collaboration with economists and experts worldwide. It demonstrates that the greening of economies is not generally a drag on growth but rather a new engine of growth; that it is a net generator of decent jobs, and that it is also a vital strategy for the elimination of persistent poverty. The report also seeks to motivate policy makers to create the enabling conditions for increased investments in a transition to a green economy.

Selected chapters from part II: Investing in energy and resource efficiency

Transport
This chapter examines the role of transport in a green economy. Drawing on the Avoid, Shift and Improve strategy, it highlights the challenges and opportunities of shifting to a greener transport system. It also examines the various options and conditions required to enable such a transition.

Contents:

• Challenges and opportunities in the transport sector
• Transport in a green economy
• Quantiying the economic implications of green transport
• Enabling conditions

Cities

The chapter makes a case for green cities. It describes the environmental, social and economic consequences of greening urban systems and infrastructure, and provides guidance to policy makers on how to make cities more environmentally friendly. It includes a summary of green practices and looks at the enabling conditions needed foster green cities.

Contents:

• Challenges and opportunities
• The case for greening cities
• Greening urban sectors
• Enabling green cities

Press release

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Synthesis for Policy Makers
[French, Portuguese, Spanish]

Landscape fragmentation in Europe

European Environment Agency
September 2011

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There is an increasing need and interest in including indicators of landscape fragmentation in monitoring systems of sustainable development, biodiversity, and landscape quality. We recommend that the results presented in this report be used for this purpose and be updated on a regular basis to detect trends in the development of landscape fragmentation.

Therefore, this report discusses the use of fragmentation analysis presented in this report as a tool for performance review in transportation planning and regional planning and recommends a set of measures to control landscape fragmentation, such as more effective protection of remaining unfragmented areas and wildlife corridors, the setting of targets and limits and a European defragmentation strategy. This study provides for the first time an accurate measurement of landscape fragmentation for most of the European continent, which supports managers and policymakers in allocating resources towards the protection and restoration of biodiversity and landscape quality. The report also identifies future research needs.

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A guide to reducing the impact of urban transport on the climate

Umwelt Bundes Amt
2010

Many towns and cities have made efforts to design urban transport strategies that are more environmentally friendly. UBA‘s new Guide to reducing the impact of urban transport on the climate outlines which action plans make for successful climate protection schemes. The guide emphasises measures with high climate protection potential that can be decided on by municipal administrations.

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Reducing Carbon Emissions from Transport Projects

Evaluation Knowledge Brief
July 2010

ADB

A new report, “Reducing Carbon Emissions from Transportation”, recently published by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) provides an important new roadmap to cut greenhouse gases in this sector. With this report, the ADB becomes the first multilateral development bank to estimate the carbon footprint of its transportation assistance programs. These amount to 792 million tons for the projects supported by ADB between 2000-2009, nearly equal to the annual land transport emissions of Thailand.

Press release by ITDP

Project presentation, key findings, recommendations and tools (Evaluation models of several transport modes)

Evaluation model example:

Model 6: Urban Transport - Bus Rapid Transit System

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Globalisation, Transport and the Environment

OECD
2010

What impact has globalisation had on transport? And what have been the consequences for the environment? This book analyses these issues in detail. It is based on a series of papers prepared for an OECD/ITF Global Forum on Transport and Environment in a Globalising World, held in Guadalajara, Mexico, 10-12 November 2008 (see www.oecd.org/env/transport/GFSD). The original papers have been updated and edited, primarily in order to avoid overlap from chapter to chapter, and have been brought together in this volume to provide policy makers with a comprehensive overview of the interactions between globalisation, transport and the environment.
This book looks in detail at how globalisation has affected activity levels in maritime shipping, aviation, and road and rail freight, and assesses the impact that changes in activity levels have had on the environment. The book also discusses policy instruments that can be used to address negative environmental impacts, both from an economic perspective and from the point of view of international law.

Contents:

Chapter 1. Introduction and Main Findings
Chapter 2. Globalisation's Direct and Indirect Effects on the Environment
Chapter 3. International Maritime Shipping: The Impact of Globalisation on Activity Levels
Chapter 4. International Air Transport: The Impact of Globalisation on Activity Levels
Chapter 5. International Road and Rail Freight Transport: The Impact of Globalisation on Activity Levels
Chapter 6. International Maritime Shipping: Environmental Impacts of Increased Activity Levels
Chapter 7. International Air Transport: Environmental Impacts of Increased Activity Levels
Chapter 8. International Road and Rail Freight Transport: Environmental Impacts of Increased Activity Levels
Chapter 9. Policy Instruments to Limit Negative Environmental Impacts: An Economic Perspective
Chapter 10. Policy Instruments to Limit Negative Environmental Impacts: International Law

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Moving freight with better trucks: Improving safety, productivity and sustainability

OECD
April 2011

This report identifies potential improvements in terms of more effective safety and environmental regulation for trucks, backed by better systems of enforcement, and identifies opportunities for greater efficiency and higher productivity.

The report is based on a review of literature, consultation among stakeholders, and research and analysis from working group members. It also presents the results of a comprehensive benchmarking study of 39 truck configurations in operation around the world – from typical workhorse vehicles to very high capacity vehicles – and assesses their performance in terms of dynamic stability, productivity and impact on the infrastructure.

Content:

Chapter 1. Trends in Road Freight Transport
Chapter 2. Logistic Challenges in the Road Transport Market
Chapter 3. Regulation of Road Freight Transport
Chapter 4. Evaluation of Truck Performance
Chapter 5. Environmental Challenges
Chapter 6. Heavy Truck Safety
Chapter 7. Infrastructure Challenges
Chapter 8. Current Use of Higher Capacity Vehicles
Chapter 9. Regulating for Improved Performance
Chapter 10. Compliance and Responsibility
Annex A. Vehicle Technical Standards: UNECE Agreements
Annex B. Truck Safety Data (Complement to Chapter 6)
Annex C. Evolution in Freight Transport

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Environmental impacts of international shipping: The role of ports

Edited by Nils Axel Braathen
OECD
February 2011

While efficient ports are vital to the economic development of their surrounding areas, the related ship traffic, the handling of the goods in the ports and the hinterland distribution can cause a number of negative environmental impacts.

This book examines the environmental impacts of international maritime transport, and looks more in detail at the impacts stemming from near-port shipping activities, the handling of the goods in the ports and from the distribution of the goods to the surrounding regions. It focuses on five ports: Los Angeles and Long Beach, California, the United States; Rotterdam, the Netherlands; Port Metro Vancouver, Canada; and Busan, Korea.

The book provides examples of the environmental problems related to port activities (such as air pollution and emissions of greenhouse gases, water pollution, noise, spread of invasive species, etc.) and highlights a number of different policy instruments that can be used to limit the negative impacts. It is a valuable resource for policy makers and researchers alike.

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Policies and Measures to Mitigate Potential Environmental Impacts of Cross Border Infrastructure Projects in Asia

By ZhongXiang Zhang
ADB Institute
Working paper 261
January 11 2011

While bringing positive impacts and benefits, cross-border infrastructure projects face additional challenges relative to national projects. Moreover, such projects involve a variety of technical, regulatory, institutional, and legal factors, and their obstacles constrain the development of cross-border infrastructure projects. This paper argues that proper technical specifications and well-functioning regulatory, institutional and legislative/legal frameworks with clearer lines of oversight are crucial to getting such projects off the ground in the first place and to ensure that they operate properly and reliably while minimizing their environmental impacts. It is pointed out that many issues in theses areas need to be addressed at the national level. The paper concludes that such domestic efforts, coupled with regional frameworks and arrangements wherever necessary, will promote the further development of cross-border infrastructure projects.

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Environmental assessment of passenger transportation should include infrastructure and supply chains

Environmental Research Letters 4 (2009)

IOP Publishing
June 2009

To appropriately mitigate environmental impacts from transportation, it is necessary for decision makers to consider the life-cycle energy use and emissions. Most current decision-making relies on analysis at the tailpipe, ignoring vehicle production, infrastructure provision, and fuel production required for support. We present results of a comprehensive life-cycle energy, greenhouse gas emissions, and selected criteria air pollutant emissions inventory for automobiles, buses, trains, and airplanes in the US, including vehicles, infrastructure, fuel production, and supply chains. We find that total life-cycle energy inputs and greenhouse gas emissions contribute an additional 63% for onroad, 155% for rail, and 31% for air systems over vehicle tailpipe operation. Inventorying criteria air pollutants shows that vehicle non-operational components often dominate total emissions. Life-cycle criteria air pollutant emissions are between 1.1 and 800 times larger than vehicle operation. Ranges in passenger occupancy can easily change the relative performance of modes.

Keywords: passenger transportation, life-cycle assessment, cars, autos, buses, trains, rail, aircraft, planes, energy, fuel, emissions, greenhouse gas, criteria air pollutants.

Supplementary data are available from http://stacks.iop.org/ERL/4/024008

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Freight noise FOCUS

Freight noise FOCUS. UIC noise network
UIC Action programme noise reduction freight traffic.
October 2009. N°4
Railway Tecnical Publications - ETF

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Long-Term Climate Impacts of the Introduction of Mega-Trucks

Study for the Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER)
CER - Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies
May 2009

This new study published by the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research reveals how introducing longer and heavier trucks on European roads would cause far more environmental damage than previously expected. The results of model simulations show that the use of megatrucks across the EU cannot be considered a suitable instrument to lower the environmental impact of transport: megatrucks would replace up to 30% of high-value and container transport volumes on rail. They would also produce an additional 2 million tonnes of CO2 each year.

The study finds strong evidence that the introduction of megatrucks would lead to negative impacts within 5 to 10 years that would far outweigh any initial positive effects. It is estimated that in the high-value goods and container transport markets, up to 30% of rail freight transport could be shifted back onto the roads. The research team also warns that the slump in some parts of the combined rail and road freight transport market may be as high as 85%. The report concludes that longer and heavier road freight vehicles should be rejected, not least because of their effect on climate protection policy. The modal shift effects would run counter to the EU’s CO2 reduction targets with an additional 2 million tonnes of CO2 produced each year if megatrucks were introduced.

The study ”Long-Term Climate Impacts of the Introduction of Megatrucks” was commissioned by CER and coordinated by Dr Claus Doll from the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research in Karlsruhe (Germany), between May and July 2008. Further partners in the study were Trasporti e Territorio (TRT) from Milan (Italy), Nouveaux Espaces de Transport en Europe – Applications de Recherche (NESTEAR) from Gentilly (France), the Fraunhofer-Center for Applied Research on Technologies for the Logistics Service Industries (ATL) in Nuremberg (Germany), and the Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics (IML) in Dortmund (Germany). The coordinating Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research (ISI) investigates how technical and organisational innovations shape industry and society today and in the future. A trademark of the systemic approach is the integration of research disciplines and the construction of a network for innovations, together with clients and interested parties. With its expertise, experience and reports, ISI as one of the application-oriented research institutes in the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft makes a contribution towards strengthening European competitiveness.

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