Resource information
Greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) generated
from transport are among the fastest growing in Europe and
in the Europe and Central Asia (ECA) region, posing a
challenge in creating a low-carbon future, as economic
development has been paralleled with a modal share
increasingly dominated by roads.1 This modal shift, as in
the European Union (EU), has been driven by a number of
factors, including growing affluence, suburbanization, and
falling land use densities in urban areas, which have
translated into more widespread vehicle ownership,
increasing trip numbers and lengths, while reducing the
financial viability of public transport and non-motorized
transport. This paper begins by reviewing recent trends in
transport and GHG emission trends in the ECA region, using
trends in the EU-15 and EU-27 as comparators.8 Subsequently,
it will provide an overview of climate friendly transport
policies for the road, rail, and air transport modes, before
presenting some land transport success stories and then
turning to a discussion on how to use revenues generated
from pricing policy instruments. The objective is to provide
a menu of policy options to improve the functioning of the
transport sector in ECA, while addressing the externalities
generated by the sector.
