Category: transport

OECD finds air pollution from road transport costs member states US$1.7 trillion annually

Deaths and health impacts from air pollution cost advanced economies, together with China and India, US$3.5 trillion annually, according to an Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) report, 'The Cost of Air Pollution: Health Impacts of Road Transport.' Air pollution and its impacts on human health cost society an estimated US$1.7 trillion per year … Continue reading OECD finds air pollution from road transport costs member states US$1.7 trillion annually →

Formula One sets the pace of development

Recently John Llewellyn wrote a very interesting column for the eceee on the impressive improvements made this year by F1 racing cars. But for John the F1 experience of achieving massive fuel efficiency gains has a deeper significance: it shows what clever people can achieve when motivated and the importance of incentives. No sooner had … Continue reading Formula One sets the pace of development →

Vehicle fuel economy in the spotlight

Undoubtedly, to achieve low carbon economy we need to seriously reduce consumption of vehicles. Everyone knows this but the road to achieving this is not simple. Henry Foy and Chris Bryant write in the Financial Times about the resistance of car manufacturers to even changing the fuel economy test.   Carmakers clash with EU over … Continue reading Vehicle fuel economy in the spotlight →

Shared cycling gaining popularity globally

The Economist recently provided an excellent article on recent developments to promote bike-sharing in cities.  It is particularly impressive to see the new developments coming to Copenhagen but, really, there are so many excellent examples – and even one in EiD’s neighbourhood.     Bike-sharing - Sharing two wheels is becoming ever more popular In … Continue reading Shared cycling gaining popularity globally →

How Europe is making the transition to green urban transportation

Erica Gies writes in the New York Times about efforts in Europe to integrate the old with the new to develop a much greener approach to urban transit. Examples are given from Austria, France and Germany. In Europe, Greener Transit on Existing Infrastructure Vienna is employing some old-fashioned technology to run shiny new electric buses … Continue reading How Europe is making the transition to green urban transportation →

Discussing the rebound effect from energy efficiency

On January 24th and 25th, there was an excellent roundtable at the IEA discussing the Macroeconomic Benefits of Energy Efficiency.  There was an extensive discussion on the rebound effect with no real conclusion other than it must be analysed.  How the results are used is up for debate.  By coincidence, that very day there were … Continue reading Discussing the rebound effect from energy efficiency →

Impact of diesel fumes on health

John Vidal, environment editor of the Guardian, wrote recently in the Observer about a recent government report in the UK that details the harm that diesel fumes are causing.  This is a major concern since governments have been promoting the benefits of switching to diesel. Diesel fumes more damaging to health than petrol engines Ministry … Continue reading Impact of diesel fumes on health →