Qualifier Seminar by Mr Stefan Bakker

Department of Urban and Regional Planning and Geo-Information Management

Transport and low-carbon development:concepts, policy mechanisms and evaluation

Abstract:

The transport sector contributes significantly to economic growth and personal freedom, but is currently unsustainable in both developed and developing countries, due to its contribution to local or national problems, such as congestion, air pollution, obesity, noise, accidents, dependence on foreign oil; energy price risk; and global problems such as climate change and energy insecurity. If sustainable development is looked at from a national point of view we can separate it from the issue of climate change, which at least for developing countries can be justified as they are not internationally committed to reducing GHG emissions. An important question is how the transport sector can improve its sustainability and climate profile at the same time, as this will benefit the local and global community. International climate policy aims to do this, and mechanisms for international cooperation to achieve this in practice are being developed under the UNFCCC and other international fora, often based on the concept of low-carbon development. In low-carbon development the priority is with (sustainable) development and growth, and opportunities to achieve this in a low-carbon manner are being identified.

However, sustainable, low-carbon transport policies are far from a current reality in both developed and developing countries due to a range of barriers in the realms of economy, policy development, institutions, analysis techniques and society. In addition, there is a need for international climate policy to contribute to sustainable transport, which to date has proven challenging. These two issues lead to the following research problem: How can the transport sector contribute to low-carbon development, and how can (inter)national transport policies and mechanisms be evaluated on their greenhouse gas emission impact?

In my research this is broken down further into three objectives:

1. To examine and characterise the nexus between development, transport and climate change mitigation and its implications for policymakers;
2. To get an understanding of and providing recommendations about the role international policy instruments can play in promoting sustainable, low carbon transport in developing countries;
3. Understanding how can transport policy measures be evaluated on their greenhouse gas emissions impact
   

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