The impact of the economic crisis and policy actions on GHG emissions from road transport in Spain

• Published in: Energy policy Vol. 74; pp. 486 - 498
• Main Authors: Sobrino, Natalia, Monzon, Andres
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 01.11.2014; Elsevier; Elsevier Science Ltd
• Subjects: Air pollution; Air pollution caused by fuel industries; Applied sciences; Carbon footprint; Economic conditions; Economic crisis; Economic development; Economic theory; Economics; Effectiveness studies; Emission analysis; Emissions control; Energy; Energy economics; Energy efficiency; Energy. Thermal use of fuels; Environmental economics; Environmental impact; Exact sciences and technology; Fuel; General, economic and professional studies; General. Regulations. Norms. Economy; GHG emissions; Greenhouse effect; Ground, air and sea transportation, marine construction; Indexes; Methodology. Modelling; Policies; Pollution control; Road traffic; Road transport; Road transportation and traffic; Roads; Spain; Streets; Sustainable development; Traffic; Traffic engineering; Traffic flow; Transport; Transportation planning, management and economics; Western Europe; Spain; GHG emissions; Road transport; Economic crisis
• ISSN: 0301-4215; 1873-6777
• DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2014.07.020

Road traffic is the greatest contributor to the carbon footprint of the transport sector and reducing it has become one of the main targets of sustainable transport policies. An analysis of the main factors influencing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is essential for designing new energy- and environmentally efficient strategies for the road transport. This paper addresses this need by (i) identifying factors which influence the carbon footprint, including traffic activity, fuel economy and socioeconomic development; and (ii) proposing a methodological framework which uses Modified Laspeyres Index decomposition to analyze the effect of important drivers on the changes in emissions of road transport in Spain during the period from 1990 to 2010. The results demonstrate that the country׳s economic growth has been closely linked to the rise in GHG emissions. The innovative contribution of this paper is the special analysis of the changes in mobility patterns and GHG emissions during the economic crisis, when, for the first time, Spanish road traffic emissions decreased. The reduction of road transport and improved energy efficiency has been powerful contributors to this decrease, demonstrating the effectiveness of energy-saving measures. On the basis of this analysis, several tailored policy recommendations have been suggested for future implementation. •Drivers contributing to GHG emissions of road transport are identified and analyzed.•Decomposition analysis based on Modified Laspeyres Index (MLI) is applied to the Spanish case.•Economic crisis and changes in mobility patterns and GHG emissions are analyzed.•Policies for the decarbonization of road transport are recommended.