Transportation in Transition Economies: a Key to Carbon Management

Meredydd Evans, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Keywords

Abstract

The transportation sector will play a major role in future greenhouse gas emission trends in Russia, Ukraine, and other transition economies. The former Soviet Union has significantly reduced its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through years of economic hardship. Despite these major reductions in total carbon emissions resulting from economic collapse, the transportation sector’s emissions decreased at a more moderate rate or remained steady in recent years. Competition will force heavily polluting sectors, like industry, to become more modern and efficient. Emissions from the transportation sector, however, threatens to reverse overall emission trends: Poland and the Czech Republic, for example, have experienced dramatically increased use of cars and trucks since 1990, and large increases in transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions.

At the same time, transportation is one of the few sectors in the former Soviet Union (FSU) experiencing significant capital investment. Improving efficiency and environmental controls in most economic sectors is often difficult in Russia and Ukraine because of the lack of financing and investment. It is also easier to build for efficiency rather than to retrofit with expensive additions, yet if there is no investment, there is no building. While much of this investment in transportation is fuelling the rising transportation emissions, well-thought-out policies could have a significant impact in reducing future emissions.

This paper concentrates on Russia, Ukraine, and Poland, while drawing some examples from other countries as well. It is divided into three parts. The first part discusses the link between transportation and greenhouse gas emissions globally. The second part describes the trends, structure, and problems of the transportation sector in selected transition economies. For example, most former Soviet states rely heavily on rail for freight, and public transit in cities. While these services are more energy efficient than other transportation modes, they are often poorly managed by large state structures, which threatens their long-term viability. Finally, the third part outlines policies that could avoid a carbon-intensive transportation future in this region. Current policies often promote car use through subsidies and low-interest loans for highway construction and car manufacturing. More carbon-friendly policies might include better balancing foreign subsidised loans to promote sustainable transportation and expanding municipal transportation planning to incorporate modal comparisons, land use, strict financial analysis, and environmental impacts.