The transport sector typically accounts, depending on the country, for about 25% of global energy-related co2 emissions, ~7.7 Gton of CO2 in 2021 worldwide (according to IEA).
It has the highest reliance on fossilfuels of any economic sector globally, and the emissions from transportation are growing faster than any other end-use sector.
On average, they grew by just under 2% annually between 1990 and 2021.
With regard to CO2emissions in the transport sector, the following aspects need to be considered:
I. A part of the emissions (a small share, <10%) comes from infrastructures such as airports, port terminals, railway stations, highways, roads.
– The main sources include electricity used, diesel generators, fuels used in construction machinery, vegetation removed, embodied carbon during the construction, and maintenance phases.
II. Most emissions (>90%) come from vehicles and vessels, trucks, trains, airplanes, ships.
III. The fleet (cars, trucks, motorbikes) accounts for more than 70% of direct transport emissions, which means that almost 3/4 of transport emissions come from road vehicles.
IV. Aviation is another emitting source: Although the amount of freight and people travelling by air is very small compared to trucks and cars, aviation is still responsible for 12% of global emissions.
V. Shipping accounts for 11% of emissions, with bulk carriers, oil tankers and container ships being the main contributors (according to Statista).
VI. Rail is responsible for very small percentage ~1%.
The “Avoid-Shift-Improve” framework is the common strategy to achieve significant reductions in CO2 emissions from the sector.
1- Avoid: This is about avoiding unnecessary motorised travel, for example by allowing people to work from home. The idea is to minimise travel.
- It is also about moving freight efficiently, making sure the truck is full on the way out and on the way back to make more deliveries with the same amount of fuel.
2- Shift: this involves moving people or goods to less carbonintensive modes of transport, for example from private vehicles to public transport, walking or cycling.
- In the case of freight, this would involve moving goods by shipping and rail, away from aviation and cars.
3- Improve: This involves redefining and changing the vehicle fleet. This includes electric vehicles, hydrogen vehicles, airplanes, and ships, etc.
It also includes improving the design of the vehicle, improving the fuelefficiency of the vehicle, and using cleanenergy sources.