Representing Freight In Air Quality And Greenhouse Gas Models

"This report presents an evaluation of the current methods used to generate air emissions information from all freight transportation activities and discusses their suitability for purposes such as health and climate risk assessments, prioritization of emission reduction activities (e.g., through State Implementation Plans), and public education. The report is especially valuable for (1) its identification of the state of the practice, gaps, and strengths and limitations of current emissions data estimates and methods and (2) its conceptual model that offers a comprehensive representation of freight activity by all transportation modes and relationships between modes. This report will better inform the near-term needs of public and private stakeholders regarding the quality of emissions data and guide future research that links freight activities with air emissions."--pub. desc.

Transportation is a significant contributor to national greenhouse gas emissions, and can be part of the Nation's solution to the climate change challenge. The Energy Independence and Security Act (December 2007) called upon the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), in coordination with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and in consultation with the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), to conduct a study of the impact of the Nation's transportation system on climate change and strategies to mitigate the effects by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The study also considers fuel savings and air pollution reduction from these measures. This report responds to that directive. Volume 1: Synthesis Report provides an overview of transportation's contribution to greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), analyzes the effectiveness of various strategies available to reduce transportation sector GHGs, discusses the role of DOT planning and funding programs for strategic action on climate change, and concludes with five policy options that Congress may wish to consider. This study evaluates potentially viable strategies to reduce transportation greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The study was mandated by the Energy Independence and Security Act (P.L. 110-140, December 2007). The Act directed the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), in coordination with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and consultation with the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), to conduct a study of the impact of the Nation's transportation system on climate change and strategies to mitigate the effects of climate change by reducing GHG emissions from transportation. This study also examines the potential impact of these strategies on air quality, petroleum savings, transportation goals, costs, and other factors. Each GHG reduction strategy may have various positive impacts (including co-benefits) or negative impacts on these factors. Potential tradeoffs and interdependencies when reducing GHG emissions will need to be considered in order to develop balanced solutions. The study is presented in two parts: Volumes 1 and 2. Volume 1: Synthesis Report provides an overview of the study's findings and discusses policy options that Congress may wish to consider to reduce transportation GHG emissions. Volume 2: Technical Report provides the technical details of the assessment.

This topical volume covers the intersection between transport and climate change, with papers from the 'Transport & Climate Change' session of the RGS-IBG conference in London, September 2010. It considers the role of transport modes at varying spatial dimensions and a range of perspectives on the relationship between transport and climate change.

The GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard helps companies and other organizations to identify, calculate, and report GHG emissions. It is designed to set the standard for accurate, complete, consistent, relevant and transparent accounting and reporting of GHG emissions.

Road, rail, and waterway freight transportation is vital to the nation's economy. Gov't., tax, regulatory, and infrastructure investment policies can affect the costs that shippers pass on to their customers. If gov't. policy gives one mode a cost advantage over another, then shipping prices and customers' use of freight modes can be distorted, reducing the overall efficiency of the nation's economy. This report: (1) describes how gov't. policies can affect competition and efficiency within the surface freight transportation sector; (2) determines what is known about the extent to which all costs are borne by surface freight customers; and (3) discusses the use of the findings when making surface freight transportation policy. Illus. A print on demand report.

It is not intended to model or quantify the impacts of each policy option over time but instead to examine the means by which each influences behavior and the demand for and supply of energy- and emissions-saving technology, particularly in the modes of transportation with the greatest effect on the sector's consumption of petroleum and emissions of GHGs. In choosing among policies, elected officials must take into account many factors that could not be examined in this study, such as the full range of safety, economic, and environmental implications of their choices; therefore, the report does not recommend a specific suite of policies to pursue. Instead, the emphasis is on assessing each policy approach with regard to its applicability across transportation modes and its ability to affect the total amount of energy-intensive transportation activity, the efficiency of transportation vehicles, and GHG emissions characteristics of the sector's energy supply.

"TRB's National Cooperative Freight Research Program (NCFRP) Report 22: Freight Data Cost Elements identifies the specific types of direct freight transportation cost data elements required for public investment, policy, and regulatory decisionmaking. The report also describes and assesses different strategies for identifying and obtaining the needed cost data elements"--Publisher's description.

"NCFRP Report 21: Handbook on Applying Environmental Benchmarking in Freight Transportation identifies and evaluates approaches that can be used by public and private entities to estimate, monitor, and reduce freight emissions and impacts across the supply chain by examining how benchmarking can be used as a management tool in the freight and logistics industry to promote environmental performance. The handbook provides a step-by-step overview of the benchmarking process and describes a framework for applying this process to freight carriers, shippers, and freight hubs"--Foreword.