Anatomy of the atmospheric emissions from the transport sector in Greece: trends and challenges

• Published in: Environmental science and pollution research international Vol. 29; no. 23; pp. 34670 - 34684
• Main Authors: Paschalidou, Anastasia K., Petrou, Ilias, Fytianos, Georgios, Kassomenos, Pavlos
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.05.2022; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Air Pollutants - analysis; Air pollution; Air Pollution - analysis; Air quality; Aquatic Pollution; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Aviation; Bivariate analysis; Climate change; Correlation analysis; Deceleration; Earth and Environmental Science; Economic conditions; Ecosystem; Ecosystem degradation; Ecosystem services; Ecotoxicology; Emission analysis; Emissions; Environment; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental Health; Environmental science; Greece; Greenhouse Effect; Greenhouse gases; Navigation; Outdoor air quality; Pollutants; Pollution dispersion; Public health; Regression analysis; Research Article; Statistical analysis; Tourism; Transportation industry; Trends; Urban areas; Urban environments; Waste Water Technology; Water Management; Water Pollution Control; Greece; Climate change; Joinpoint analysis; Greenhouse gases; Emissions
• ISSN: 0944-1344; 1614-7499; 1614-7499
• DOI: 10.1007/s11356-021-18062-5

Emissions of atmospheric pollutants are well-known for their adverse effects on air quality and public health. Additionally, GHG emissions are responsible for the so called “Radiating Forcing” leading to climate change and degradation of ecosystem services. In this work, we analyze the annual emission trends of various air pollutants, including GHGs, from all 4 sectors of transport (roads, aviation, navigation, and railway) in Greece during the 28-year period between 1990 and 2017, in order to examine the confounding dynamics among external forces, such as the major fiscal recession of 2008, and the GHG/pollutant emissions in the country. The analysis is performed with a suite of statistical tools consisting of bivariate correlation analysis, Mann–Kendall test, Sen’s slope estimation, and Joinpoint regression analysis, in order to thoroughly study the trends of emissions. It is found that all transport sectors (except for the railway) show a significant increase in their emissions, despite the fiscal recession of 2008 that temporarily decelerated all aspects of economic activity in the country. Given the major share of transport in GHG emissions (37%) and air pollution in urban centers, it is essential that the road sector adapts to the new challenges, by means of switching to low-emission technologies and electromobilization. The same applies for the navigation and aviation sectors, which are known pillars of the tourist industry in the country.