OECD Report
Environmentally Sustainable Transport

Anlässlich der internationalen Abschlusskonferenz am 04. bis 06. Oktober 2000 in Wien wurden in Ergänzung zur bereits veröffentlichten Studie die "Guidelines", der "Synthesis Report" und die Broschüre "Nachhaltig umweltverträglicher Alpenverkehr" vorgelegt. Die letztgenannte, im Oktober 2000 erschienene Broschüre ist ein Ergänzungsband zur Hauptbroschüre "Nachhaltig umweltverträglicher Alpenverkehr" (EST). Sie können bezogen werden über Das Bundesministerium für Land- und Forstwirtschaft, Umwelt- und Wasserwirtschaft (BMLFUW), Stubenbastei 5, A-1010 Wien, Österreich.

En cadre de la conférence finale internationale Octobre 4 à 6 à Vienne les "Guidelines" et le "Synthesis Report" de l'étude OECD "Environmentally Sustainable Transport - future strategies and best practices" et la brochure "Transport Alpins écologiquement viables" etaint aussi presenté. Les brochures peuvent être commandés à L'organisation de Coopération et de Développement Economiques (OCDE), F-75775 Paris, 2, Rue Andre Pascal, France

Nell' ambito progetto "Trasporto eco-sostenibile" OCSE ha anche presentato a Vienna Octobre 4 a 6, 2000 gli "Guidelines" e  "Synthesis Report" e la brochure "Il trasporto ecosostenibile nella Regione Alpina". Le presente brochure sono richieste al Ministero dell'Ambiete, Servizio PIA, I-00147 Roma, Via Christoforo Colombo 44, Italia.

On the occasion of the international final conference October 4 - 6, 2000 in Vienna the following complementary studies were presented: "The Guidelines", "The Synthesis Report" and the brochure "Environmentally Sustainable Alpine Transport". The last mentioned report was published October 2000 and is an addendum to the main brochure "Environmentally Sustainable Transport". It can be ordered from OECD, L'organisation de Coopération et de Développement Economiques (OCDE), F-75775 Paris, 2, Rue Andre Pascal, France.

The OECD Environmental Policy Committee´s Task Force on Transport initiated a project on Environmentally Sustainable Transport (EST) to give some precision to the concept through the use of criteria which can be quantified and have environmental significance.

ALPENFORUM summarizes some of the prerequisites of this important study and presents an abbreviated survey of principally significant conclusions.

The overall objectives of the project are to provide an understanding of EST, its implications and requirements, and to develop methods and policy guidelines towards its realisation.

The report presupposes that for transportation to be sustainable, it should at least not result in exceedance  of generally accepted objectives for environmental quality; (such as those of the World Health Organisation WHO concerning air pollutants and noise); it should not reduce the integrity of ecosystems and it should not contribute to potentially adverse global phenomena such as climate change and stratospheric ozon depletion.

Firstly, therefore, common reduction goals for carbon dioxide CO2, nitrogen oxides NOx and volatile organic chemicals VOC were determined.

These reduction rates are defined to attain concentration levels with acceptable (minimum) health risks and are based on current air quality guidelines of the World Health Organisation WHO. Accordingly, it was concluded that NOx and VOC emissions from transportation  in 2030 should not exceed 10 % of the emissions in 1990.

The reduction goal for CO2-emissions at current levels is based upon the requirements to prevent global warming defined by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPPC).The chosen reduction rates of 80 % take into consideration that the relative reductions of CO2 emissions required in OECD countries ought to be higher than in non-OECD countries in order to allow them opportunities to further economic development.

Secondly, specific targets for Particulate Matter PM10, noise and land-use had to be established :

• Noise should attain a level until 2030 that is below the risks olf impairment of health or serious nuisance.
• Land-use for the movement, maintenance and storage of motor vehicles in 2030 is such as to avoid harm to ecosystems within and outside of urban areas.

Phase 2 of the investigation reported here compares a so called “BAU “scenario

(business as usual) assuming no major changes of policies or economic determinants with three scenarios of EST:

• EST 1 is focusing on technological measures
• EST 2 concentrates on transport demand and modal shifts
• EST 3 is based on a combination of all relevant measures and instruments.

The 637 page Annex volume of this report includes an in depth study to asses environmentally sustainable transport in the Alps, covering a projected period of 1990 to 2030.The data contributions in this case were made by experts in Austria, Switzerland and France and provide a wealth of detailed information on the status of both inneralpine and transalpine transport for private car and road freight.

 Among the conclusions presented, the following are quoted here because of their fundamental relevance:

• Although substantial further improvement in emissions control and in attenuation of other environmental impacts can be expected, continuation of the present rate of changes in policy and technology, “business as usual” would likely not result in achievement of environmentally sustainable transportation.
• Emissions of nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds (and therefore ground level ozone), and also particulate matter, would decline substantially with “business as usual”, but only to levels that are mostly still several times higher than the present study´s criteria for environmental sustainability.
• With “business as usual”, emissions of carbon dioxide would increase compared with present levels; thus, in this respect transport systems will be moving away from rather than towards sustainability.
• Thus the overall conclusion must be that continuation of present trends in transportation and transport policies would be environmentally unsustainable.
• Notwithstanding possible implementation difficulties, environmentally sustainable transportation………..could be achieved through a mix of technological improvements and changes in practices regarding passenger and freight transport.
• Technological improvements, as implied in the study, will account for somewhat less than half of the effort required to achieve EST. About half the effort will have to come from some reductions and/or changes in transport activity.
• Several combinations of technological breakthrough and transport management changes may contribute to reach transport sustainability in 2030, according to the EST criteria related to emissions of pollutants and, partially, noise. These changes however would require concerted transnational actions, in particular as regard transalpine transport demand, and would also be required in countries outside of the Alpine Region. Purely local measures would certainly not be sufficient to reduce the environmental loads to a level of sustainability, since they have limited effects on technology and on transalpine transport demand.

Source: Environmentally Sustainable Transport
Annex Volume to the Report on Phase II of the OECD Project
OECD, Grenoble 1999
and
Final Report on Phase II of the OECD EST Project Volume 1:
Synthesis Report, OECD September 1999

Information and contact
Mr. Peter Wiederkehr:
Tel.++33-(0)1-45 24 78 76
e-mailB: Copies of the Alpine Study can be provided by Mr. Wiederkehr on request.
Further information by OECD: http://www.oecd.org/env/ccst/est

The Final EST Conference will take place 4- 6 October 2000 in Vienna.