Regional Transport Indicators Used in Sweden for Measurement, Reporting and Verification of CO2 Emissions

• Main Authors: Kerstin Robertson, Annika Jägerbrand, Jan R. Eriksson
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2015-04-01
• Series: Challenges
• Subjects: traffic; local; regional; evaluation; carbon dioxide emissions; decoupling; transport planning
• Online Access: http://www.mdpi.com/2078-1547/6/1/55

Established practice is available as a reference for evaluating sustainable transport and CO2 emissions at national, European and global levels, but comparing corresponding systems at the regional and local levels are more challenging. Therefore, this paper analyses the use of indicators, evaluation methods and data availability at local and regional levels for applied policies and measures in transport planning. Sweden is used as a case study. Available data show that total surveys (e.g., vehicle registry data), sample surveys (e.g., interviews) or modelling can be used to develop transport indicators, and that either generated (volume generated in the area) or performed (volume in the area) traffic and transportation is estimated. However, there are limitations with all methods and the design of evaluations needs careful consideration in order to reflect changes in local and regional transport systems and to relate those changes to specific measures and policies. In most cases, survey methods need to be used in order to follow up the most common indicators. All evaluation methods need to be complemented with analyses of a baseline to determine additionality and also potential rebound effects need to be considered, which requires the application of a wider systems perspective.