|
Title:
|
|
External costs of transport and internalisation: synthesis report on TopicA: external costs of transport
|
|
|
|
Author(s):
|
|
|
|
|
|
Published by:
|
Publication date:
|
|
ECN
Policy Studies
|
1996
|
|
|
|
ECN report number:
|
Document type:
|
|
ECN-C--96-069
|
ECN publication
|
|
|
|
Number of pages:
|
Full text:
|
|
190
|
Download PDF
|
Abstract:
The transport sector is one of the basic structures of modern society.However, transportation also causes several effects that are harmful to human
beings and nature, a problem which is too often ignored when decisions on
transport activities are made. Considered from an economic viewpoint, this
omission of environmental costs from decision making will lead to
misallocation of resources and to market failure. In an attempt to correct
for this, economists estimate the external costs of transport and try to
internalize these costs in the price of transport. The estimation of external
costs of transport is the subject of this report. A method for calculation of
external costs of air pollution, climate change and noise caused by transport
in the European Union (EU) is presented. The key question in this study is:
to what extent can the avoidance cost methodology be used as a basis for an
official evaluation of external costs by the EU and the member states? The
specific objectives are: (1) provide a theoretical basis for the evaluation
of external costs, review the literature on methodologies for estimation of
external costs in the transport sector, compare advantages and drawbacks of
the avoidance cost method with willingness-to-pay and damage cost approaches
and carry out a survey of existing studies on the external costs of
transport; (2) establish and describe suitable methods and the data
requirements to assess avoidance costs of air pollution, climate change and
noise; (3) collect data on emissions, impacts and technological avoidance
options for vehicles and infrastructure and construct avoidance cost curves,
compare survey results and estimate avoidance costs; and (4) provide
information for the internalization process. 36 figs., 31 tabs., 84 refs
Back to List