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Center for Advancing Research in Transportation Emissions, Energy, and Health (CARTEEH)

A USDOT University Transportation Center

Change in Modeled Transportation Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Change in modeled transportation greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions before and after an intervention is a measure to determine the rate of emitted greenhouse gases from transport vehicles. The concentration of the emitted greenhouse gases is calculated based on the carbon content and total domestic consumption of different transportation fuels (e.g., gasoline, diesel fuel, aviation gasoline, jet fuel, residual fuel oil). The proportion of emissions owing to various vehicle types is estimated by further calculations.1

This indicator helps determine the effectiveness of the following objectives

  • Less Contamination
  • Less Emissions
  • Less Traffic Noise
  • Connectivity and Inclusion
  • Healthy Destinations
  • Less Traffic Violence
  • Active Transportation
  • Green Space

Data Collection

The public may access data on greenhouse gas emissions on the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change’s (UNFCCC) webpage. The UNFCCC data interface provides a huge variety of GHG data, where data are shown for individual parties or groups of parties, for various greenhouse gases or for their total, and in varying degrees of detail.2

Examples

University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute

A recent study found that changes in transportation patterns have resulted in a decrease in GHG emissions. The research, conducted by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, looked at data from 2000 to 2013 and found that total passenger miles traveled (VMT) increased by 21%, while GHG emissions from transportation declined by 6%. The study attributed the decrease in emissions to a shift in transportation mode, with more people using public transit, walking, and biking and fewer people driving alone. In addition, the study found that the average fuel efficiency of vehicles has improved over time.

https://www.umtri.umich.edu/research/expertise/projects/

1. Transportation GHG emissions and trends [Internet]. US Department of Transportation. 2016 [cited 2022 Jul 13]. Available from: https://www.transportation.gov/sustainability/climate/transportation-ghg-emissions-and-trends
2. UNFCCC. [Internet]. Unfccc.int. [cited 2022 Jul 29]. Available from: https://unfccc.int/process/transparency-and-reporting/greenhouse-gas-data/what-is-greenhouse-gas-data