Territorial strategies to reduce the effect of transport sector on climatic change

Abstract

Signs of climatic change are becoming more and more evident and the magnitude of these signs a growing cause for concern as the affected variables are quantified. CO2 emissions are the principal cause of climatic change and the transport sector one of the main sources of these emissions, particularly private vehicles which account for most of the fossil fuels burned. Given this situation, my article explains how different transport means contribute to GHG emissions and details the different emission levels for each of them. It then goes on to give a breakdown of transport modes in Catalonia in relation to the unequal distribution of public transport services throughout Catalonia and the different reasons why people travel. It ends by detailing territorial strategies to reduce the impact of transport from three principles: efficiency, accessibility and sustainability. These three complementary principles are explained in terms of short and long-term measures.

Keywords: climatic change, transport modes, modal split, territorial strategies.