TRANSPORT AND THE ENVIRONMENT: FROM ACCOUNTING TO EVALUATION

Abstract:

The presentation introduces into a comprehensive evaluation framework of that is able to include all external costs and benefits of transport. Conventionally applied evaluation methods to improve the environmental performance of the transport sector suffer from a number of limitations. Often external costs and benefits are excluded from the evaluative framework. The central benefit of transport projects and policies is time savings of users of the transport system. Recently accounting systems have become popular which narrowly focus on gross emissions or emissions net of the emissions avoided of a baseline. Both approaches to evaluating transport policies are misleading in general.

The presentation will make the case for accounting prices as a necessary complement of the physical accounting frameworks. The framework presented will illustrate the inclusion of wider benefits of transport resulting from agglomeration effects. It has an intertemporal character to accommodate the wealth effects and consequent indirect development effects of transport. A short review of the quantitative dimensions of the external costs will show the limitations of focusing on individual quantitative emission flows.