Emissions Trading in the Transportation Sector
Emissions Trading in the Transportation Sector
The goal of this project was to develop and evaluate different approaches of emissions trading in the transport sector. In doing so, we focused mainly on road traffic. A set of assessment criteria was developed, taking into account not only economic objectives (such as cost efficiency and transaction costs), but also environmental (effectiveness) and political (social acceptability) issues. Different points of regulation were looked at, among them upstream (fuel producer), midstream (car manufacturer, carrier) and downstream (consumer). Although the downstream approach seemed to be an approach that would be more feasible in the far-off future due to acceptability reasons, all of the other approaches showed to more attainable in the present. If transaction costs are considered, the upstream regime would be the most promising approach, since only a few participants would be involved. The two midstream approaches are also worth considering when talking about the implementation of an emissions trading scheme in the transport sector. A rough calculation taking into account the ACEA-target and allowing for an international trading showed that the cost burden is not as high as usually argued. In a follow-up project these first thoughts will be reconsidered more thoroughly and take a much broader view, which means that other means of transportation must also be considered.