IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v10y2018i11p3995-d179808.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Urban Mobility and Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Status, Public Policies, and Scenarios in a Developing Economy City, Natal, Brazil

Author

Listed:
  • André Luiz Lopes Toledo

    (Academic Directorate of Construction of Central Natal Campus, Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal 59015-000, Brazil
    Energy Planning Program of Alberto Luiz Coimbra Institute for Graduate Studies and Engineering Research, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 21941-909, Brazil)

  • Emílio Lèbre La Rovere

    (Energy Planning Program of Alberto Luiz Coimbra Institute for Graduate Studies and Engineering Research, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 21941-909, Brazil)

Abstract

This study aims to deepen the understanding of the role of the urban mobility sector in the current and future greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of a middle-sized city of Brazil, which is also a developing economy. With the cross-reference between road and rail mobility data, governmental mobility planning, the Global Protocol for Community-Scale Greenhouse Gas Emission Inventories (GPC) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) emission quantification methodology, and the creation of scenarios for up to 10 subsequent years, it is possible to verify that individual motorized transport accounts for 60% of the total emissions from the urban transportation sector, with the largest amount of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO 2eq ) emissions per passenger among all of the forms of mobility. However, in the case of this study, government mobility planning, by not encouraging more energy-efficient transport and non-motorized modes, ends up aggravating GHG emissions in the scenarios considered for 2020 and 2025. In turn, the mitigation scenarios proposed herein integrate public transport and non-motorized transport solutions that would reduce the total of equivalent carbon dioxide (tCO 2eq ) by at least 45,000 tCO 2eq per year by 2025. This cross-referencing of the environmental impact of government mobility policies can be replicated in other cities in developing countries that do not yet present municipal inventories or emission monitoring.

Suggested Citation

  • André Luiz Lopes Toledo & Emílio Lèbre La Rovere, 2018. "Urban Mobility and Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Status, Public Policies, and Scenarios in a Developing Economy City, Natal, Brazil," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-24, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:11:p:3995-:d:179808
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/10/11/3995/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/10/11/3995/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Michael Obersteiner & Johannes Bednar & Fabian Wagner & Thomas Gasser & Philippe Ciais & Nicklas Forsell & Stefan Frank & Petr Havlik & Hugo Valin & Ivan A. Janssens & Josep Peñuelas & Guido Schmidt-T, 2018. "How to spend a dwindling greenhouse gas budget," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 8(1), pages 7-10, January.
      • Michael Obersteiner & Johannes Bednar & Fabian Wagner & Thomas Gasser & Philippe Ciais & Nicklas Forsell & Stefan Frank & Petr Havlík & Hugo Valin & Ivan Janssens & Josep Penuelas & Guido Schmidt-Trau, 2018. "How to spend a dwindling greenhouse gas budget," Post-Print hal-02895061, HAL.
    2. Redman, Lauren & Friman, Margareta & Gärling, Tommy & Hartig, Terry, 2013. "Quality attributes of public transport that attract car users: A research review," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 119-127.
    3. Eliasson, Jonas & Proost, Stef, 2015. "Is sustainable transport policy sustainable?," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 92-100.
    4. Usón, Alfonso Aranda & Capilla, Antonio Valero & Bribián, Ignacio Zabalza & Scarpellini, Sabina & Sastresa, Eva Llera, 2011. "Energy efficiency in transport and mobility from an eco-efficiency viewpoint," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(4), pages 1916-1923.
    5. Bueno, Gorka, 2012. "Analysis of scenarios for the reduction of energy consumption and GHG emissions in transport in the Basque Country," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 16(4), pages 1988-1998.
    6. Hankey, Steve & Marshall, Julian D., 2010. "Impacts of urban form on future US passenger-vehicle greenhouse gas emissions," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(9), pages 4880-4887, September.
    7. Yunjing Wang & Yoshitsugu Hayashi & Jin Chen & Qiang Li, 2014. "Changing Urban Form and Transport CO 2 Emissions: An Empirical Analysis of Beijing, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 6(7), pages 1-22, July.
    8. Talbi, Besma, 2017. "CO2 emissions reduction in road transport sector in Tunisia," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 232-238.
    9. Andrea Alonso & Andrés Monzón & Yang Wang, 2017. "Modelling Land Use and Transport Policies to Measure Their Contribution to Urban Challenges: The Case of Madrid," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(3), pages 1-28, March.
    10. Vincenzo Franzitta & Domenico Curto & Daniele Milone & Marco Trapanese, 2017. "Energy Saving in Public Transport Using Renewable Energy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(1), pages 1-19, January.
    11. Gössling, Stefan & Cohen, Scott, 2014. "Why sustainable transport policies will fail: EU climate policy in the light of transport taboos," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 197-207.
    12. Mercier, Jean & Carrier, Mario & Duarte, Fábio & Tremblay-Racicot, Fanny, 2016. "Policy tools for sustainable transport in three cities of the Americas: Seattle, Montreal and Curitiba," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 95-105.
    13. Xianchun Tan & Yuan Zeng & Baihe Gu & Yi Wang & Baoguang Xu, 2018. "Scenario Analysis of Urban Road Transportation Energy Demand and GHG Emissions in China—A Case Study for Chongqing," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-32, June.
    14. Muthukumara Mani & Sushenjit Bandyopadhyay & Shun Chonabayashi & Anil Markandya & Thomas Mosier, 2018. "South Asia's Hotspots," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 28723.
    15. Dohyung Kim & Yongjin Ahn & Simon Choi & Kwangkoo Kim, 2016. "Sustainable Mobility: Longitudinal Analysis of Built Environment on Transit Ridership," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(10), pages 1-14, October.
    16. Wills, William & La Rovere, Emilio Lèbre, 2010. "Light vehicle energy efficiency programs and their impact on Brazilian CO2 emissions," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(11), pages 6453-6462, November.
    17. van der Zwaan, Bob & Keppo, Ilkka & Johnsson, Filip, 2013. "How to decarbonize the transport sector?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 562-573.
    18. Lew Fulton & Alvin Mejia & Magdala Arioli & Kathleen Dematera & Oliver Lah, 2017. "Climate Change Mitigation Pathways for Southeast Asia: CO 2 Emissions Reduction Policies for the Energy and Transport Sectors," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(7), pages 1-16, July.
    19. Dhakal, Shobhakar, 2003. "Implications of transportation policies on energy and environment in Kathmandu Valley, Nepal," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 31(14), pages 1493-1507, November.
    20. Matthias Mengel & Alexander Nauels & Joeri Rogelj & Carl-Friedrich Schleussner, 2018. "Committed sea-level rise under the Paris Agreement and the legacy of delayed mitigation action," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 9(1), pages 1-10, December.
    21. Souza, Cristiane Duarte Ribeiro de & Silva, Suellem Deodoro & Silva, Marcelino Aurélio Vieira da & D’Agosto, Márcio de Almeida & Barboza, Arthur Prado, 2013. "Inventory of conventional air pollutants emissions from road transportation for the state of Rio de Janeiro," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 125-135.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Hanadi Al-Thani & Muammer Koç & Rima J. Isaifan & Yusuf Bicer, 2022. "A Review of the Integrated Renewable Energy Systems for Sustainable Urban Mobility," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-27, August.
    2. Silvia Stuchi & Sonia Paulino & Faïz Gallouj, 2022. "Social Innovation in Active Mobility Public Services in the Megacity of Sao Paulo," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-16, September.
    3. Kunyang Chen & Guobin Zhang & Huanyu Wu & Ruichang Mao & Xiangsheng Chen, 2022. "Uncovering the Carbon Emission Intensity and Reduction Potentials of the Metro Operation Phase: A Case Study in Shenzhen Megacity," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(1), pages 1-20, December.
    4. Gabriele Cepeliauskaite & Benno Keppner & Zivile Simkute & Zaneta Stasiskiene & Leon Leuser & Ieva Kalnina & Nika Kotovica & Jānis Andiņš & Marek Muiste, 2021. "Smart-Mobility Services for Climate Mitigation in Urban Areas: Case Studies of Baltic Countries and Germany," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-19, April.
    5. Vasile Dogaru & Claudiu Brandas & Marian Cristescu, 2019. "An Urban System Optimization Model Based on CO 2 Sequestration Index: A Big Data Analytics Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(18), pages 1-14, September.
    6. Wojciech SZYMALSKI, 2021. "Energy And Co 2 Emission Intensities Of Various Modes Of Passenger Transport In Warsaw," Transport Problems, Silesian University of Technology, Faculty of Transport, vol. 16(2), pages 131-140, June.
    7. Alberto Romero-Ania & Lourdes Rivero Gutiérrez & María Auxiliadora De Vicente Oliva, 2021. "Multiple Criteria Decision Analysis of Sustainable Urban Public Transport Systems," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 9(16), pages 1-30, August.
    8. Zhenbao Wang & Sevgi Erdogan & Frederick W. Ducca, 2019. "Evaluating the Efficacy of Zero-Emission Vehicle Deployment Strategies: The Maryland Case," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-15, March.
    9. Hongyou Lu & Yunchan Zhu & Yu Qi & Jinliang Yu, 2018. "Do Urban Subway Openings Reduce PM 2.5 Concentrations? Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-24, November.
    10. Daniela Dias & António Pais Antunes & Oxana Tchepel, 2019. "Modelling of Emissions and Energy Use from Biofuel Fuelled Vehicles at Urban Scale," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-14, May.
    11. Munjed A. Maraqa & Francisco D. B. Albuquerque & Mohammed H. Alzard & Rezaul Chowdhury & Lina A. Kamareddine & Jamal El Zarif, 2021. "GHG Emission Reduction Opportunities for Road Projects in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi: A Scenario Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-22, July.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Reham Alhindawi & Yousef Abu Nahleh & Arun Kumar & Nirajan Shiwakoti, 2020. "Projection of Greenhouse Gas Emissions for the Road Transport Sector Based on Multivariate Regression and the Double Exponential Smoothing Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-18, November.
    2. Sónia Almeida Neves & António Cardoso Marques & José Alberto Fuinhas, 2018. "Could alternative energy sources in the transport sector decarbonise the economy without compromising economic growth?," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 20(1), pages 23-40, December.
    3. Cheol Hee Son & Jong In Baek & Yong Un Ban, 2018. "Structural Impact Relationships Between Urban Development Intensity Characteristics and Carbon Dioxide Emissions in Korea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-18, June.
    4. Daniel Štraub, 2020. "The Effects of Fare-Free Public Transport: A Lesson from Frýdek-Místek (Czechia)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-15, November.
    5. Hasan, M.A. & Chapman, R. & Frame, D.J., 2020. "Acceptability of transport emissions reduction policies: A multi-criteria analysis," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    6. Gustav Bösehans & Ian Walker, 2020. "Do supra-modal traveller types exist? A travel behaviour market segmentation using Goal framing theory," Transportation, Springer, vol. 47(1), pages 243-273, February.
    7. Luis Rivera-González & David Bolonio & Luis F. Mazadiego & Sebastián Naranjo-Silva & Kenny Escobar-Segovia, 2020. "Long-Term Forecast of Energy and Fuels Demand Towards a Sustainable Road Transport Sector in Ecuador (2016–2035): A LEAP Model Application," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-26, January.
    8. Reham Alhindawi & Yousef Abu Nahleh & Arun Kumar & Nirajan Shiwakoti, 2019. "Application of a Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Technique for Projection of the Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Road Transportation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(22), pages 1-17, November.
    9. Li, Fangyi & Cai, Bofeng & Ye, Zhaoyang & Wang, Zheng & Zhang, Wei & Zhou, Pan & Chen, Jian, 2019. "Changing patterns and determinants of transportation carbon emissions in Chinese cities," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 174(C), pages 562-575.
    10. Qihao Liu & Yuzheng Liu & Chia-Lin Chen & Enrica Papa & Yantao Ling & Mengqiu Cao, 2023. "Is It Possible to Compete With Car Use? How Buses Can Facilitate Sustainable Transport," Urban Planning, Cogitatio Press, vol. 8(3), pages 69-83.
    11. Anggi Putri Kurniadi & Hasdi Aimon & Zamroni Salim & Ragimun Ragimun & Adang Sonjaya & Sigit Setiawan & Viktor Siagian & Lokot Zein Nasution & R Nurhidajat & Mutaqin Mutaqin & Joko Sabtohadi, 2024. "Analysis of Existing and Forecasting for Coal and Solar Energy Consumption on Climate Change in Asia Pacific: New Evidence for Sustainable Development Goals," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 14(4), pages 352-359, July.
    12. Bruce Taylor & Tabatha Wallington & Sonja Heyenga & Ben Harman, 2014. "Urban Growth and Climate Adaptation in Australia: Divergent Discourses and Implications for Policy-making," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 51(1), pages 3-21, January.
    13. Toşa, Cristian & Sato, Hitomi & Morikawa, Takayuki & Miwa, Tomio, 2018. "Commuting behavior in emerging urban areas: Findings of a revealed-preferences and stated-intentions survey in Cluj-Napoca, Romania," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 78-93.
    14. Alessandro Vitale & Giuseppe Guido & Daniele Rogano, 2016. "A smartphone based DSS platform for assessing transit service attributes," Public Transport, Springer, vol. 8(2), pages 315-340, September.
    15. Yang Yang & Chunlu Liu & Baizhen Li & Jilong Zhao, 2022. "Modelling and Forecast of Future Growth for Shandong’s Small Industrial Towns: A Scenario-Based Interactive Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(24), pages 1-16, December.
    16. Konstantinos Koasidis & Anastasios Karamaneas & Alexandros Nikas & Hera Neofytou & Erlend A. T. Hermansen & Kathleen Vaillancourt & Haris Doukas, 2020. "Many Miles to Paris: A Sectoral Innovation System Analysis of the Transport Sector in Norway and Canada in Light of the Paris Agreement," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-37, July.
    17. van der Zwaan, Bob & Kober, Tom & Calderon, Silvia & Clarke, Leon & Daenzer, Katie & Kitous, Alban & Labriet, Maryse & Lucena, André F.P. & Octaviano, Claudia & Di Sbroiavacca, Nicolas, 2016. "Energy technology roll-out for climate change mitigation: A multi-model study for Latin America," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 526-542.
    18. Zhang, Yue-Jun & Liu, Zhao & Zhou, Si-Ming & Qin, Chang-Xiong & Zhang, Huan, 2018. "The impact of China's Central Rise Policy on carbon emissions at the stage of operation in road sector," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 159-173.
    19. Romanika Okraszewska & Aleksandra Romanowska & Marcin Wołek & Jacek Oskarbski & Krystian Birr & Kazimierz Jamroz, 2018. "Integration of a Multilevel Transport System Model into Sustainable Urban Mobility Planning," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-20, February.
    20. Jun Sheng Teh & Yew Heng Teoh & Heoy Geok How & Thanh Danh Le & Yeoh Jun Jie Jason & Huu Tho Nguyen & Dong Lin Loo, 2021. "The Potential of Sustainable Biomass Producer Gas as a Waste-to-Energy Alternative in Malaysia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-31, April.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:11:p:3995-:d:179808. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.