Climate Change and Transportation

Abstract

As stated at the beginning of this chapter, the relationship between transportation and climate is two-directional. Based on our statistical analysis performed for Canada, we can make some general conclusions about this relationship. On the one hand, transportation is one of the largest contributors to GHG emissions which, in turn, cause various changes in climate. On the other hand, these climate changes negatively affect transportation in terms of its infrastructure and operations. Therefore, this study sends a clear signal to policy makers: “Do-nothing†alternative with respect to climate changes and transportation is no longer viable, and the interaction between the two should be explicitly taken into account by transportation professionals. In terms of contribution of transportation to climate change, any global warming that will be experienced during the next several decades will largely be the result of GHG emissions. As already noted, transportation sector in general is a significant source of GHG emissions. In order to limit future warming, GHG concentrations in the atmosphere must be stabilized. This will require reducing GHG emissions by transportation not merely to below what they might otherwise be if present trends were to continue but to well below current levels. Some decisive steps must be taken now to begin to implement different approaches. For example, U.S. Transportation Research Board proposes the following approaches: - Utilization of carbon neutral fuels; - Improved traffic flow and other changes in transport activity resulting from better integration of transport systems, enabled by information technology; - Use of power trains that are highly energy efficient; - Change in the historical mix-shifting trend to larger vehicle categories; And some others. In terms of climate change impacts on transportation, first of all, transportation agencies and service providers should inventory critical infrastructures according to the existing climate change projections. As well, transportation agencies and service providers should incorporate potential climate changes into their long-term capital improvement plans, facility designs, maintenance practices, operations, and emergency response plans. It means that from now on climate change should become a mandatory factor in any design of transportation facilities and operations