Transport and Urban Environment

Transport

The transport sector has important benefits for the economy, through the employment it provides, the opportunities for business contacts, and the freight that is moved between supplier and consumer. For individuals, transport enables us to meet our basic needs, such as access to food and work, as well as to see our friends and family, and to travel for leisure.

However, transport has adverse environmental, social and economic impacts as well. In the EU, transport is a major emitter of greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide (CO2), and is the only economic sector where these emissions are increasing. In urban areas, transport is also a major source of air and noise pollution, while waste from the transport sector is a significant source of waste materials. Additionally, transport infrastructure impacts on land use, the human environment, natural habitats and landscapes. Transport also adversely affects human health through accidents and pollution, while congestion leads to economic losses. Additionally, within the transport sector, the use of the more environmentally damaging modes - private road transport (mainly cars and lorries) and aviation - are increasing, often at the expense of other, less environmentally damaging modes, thereby perpetuating our dependence on imported oil.

There is, therefore, a need to address these impacts, while enabling the benefits of transport by making transport policy more sustainable. IEEP undertakes work on a number of areas that focus on the integration of environmental considerations, as well as other sustainability concerns, into transport policy:

environmental technology: while the development and application of new technologies cannot be the only solution to transport's problems, it has a role to play. IEEP works on projects that explore the policy options for encouraging cleaner fuels, including biofuels, and cleaner vehicles that emit less CO2 and other pollution;
transport taxation: another key area of work for IEEP promotes revision of taxation policy to take more account of transport's environmental impacts and to encourage less environmentally damaging behaviour; and
softer measures to change travel behaviour: IEEP also undertakes research into other policies to change travel behaviour in favour of less environmentally-damaging modes and journey patterns.

We undertake work for a range of clients including the European Commission and the European Environment Agency, central government departments and agencies of several countries, international bodies such as UNEP, and non-governmental organisations. For a complete list of our transport reports, please select 'Transport' in our quick search menu on our publications page.

For interviews, comment and articles, please contact our policy specialists Emma Watkins, Carolina Valsecchi.

Urban Environment

Around 80 per cent of the EU's population lives in urban areas, exposed to comparatively high levels of air pollution and noise. In many cases, both of these problems are transport-related, although industry and other sources also contribute. Urban areas are also a source of global pollution; cars and buildings, both domestic and commercial, contribute significantly to the greenhouse gas emissions. Urban areas are often home to poorer communities than rural areas; work on environmental justice has shown that lower-income households are often those most exposed to pollutants.

Local action and local authorities have a key role in shaping urban areas and determining the quality of life experienced by those who live and work there. Increasingly, however, we are seeing co-operation at the European level; local and regional groups are coming together to help solve the common environmental and socio-economic challenges they all face.

IEEP undertakes work on a number of areas of relevance to the improvement of the urban environment, such as:

funding to promote urban sustainability: IEEP works on various aspects of funding that promotes urban sustainable development e.g. the EU's Structural Funds;
transport: one of IEEP's key work areas, we have undertaken a range of work on the integration of environmental concerns into transport policy;
air quality: in urban areas, the principal source of air pollution is transport, although IEEP has expertise in policy relating to all potential emissions sources; and
planning: planning policy is key to ensuring that towns and cities develop in a way that maximises the quality of life for urban inhabitants. IEEP undertakes work on various aspects of planning, particularly as it relates to European and environmental policy.

We have undertaken work for a range of clients including the European Commission, central government departments and agencies, and non-governmental organisations.

For interviews, comment and articles, please contact our policy specialists Catherine Bowyer, Peter Hjerp