Transport emissions of greenhouse gases by mode

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Assessment made on 01 Oct 2003

Note: new version is available!

Generic metadata

Classification

Transport (Primary theme)

Climate change

DPSIR: Pressure

Identification

Indicator codes

TERM 002

Geographical coverage:

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Contents

Policy issue: Meet the EU target under the Kyoto Protocol

Key messages

In the area of EEA-31, emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) from transport (excluding international transport) increased by 20 % between 1990 and 2001. The EU Member States make up 86 % of the total EEA-31 transport emissions and they increased by 21 % in the period 1990-2001. In the EEA-EFTA countries the emissions increased by 24 % while in the acceding countries the increase was 7 %, and in the candidate countries 16 %. The EEA-EFTA group has the highest increase in emissions, followed by EU-15, CC-3 and AC-10.

EU-15 is the only country group with data on change in modal split. In EU-15, domestic aviation was the fastest growing transport mode, while rail transport was the fastest decreasing one.

In the EU, the transport sector was responsible for 21 % of the total GHG emissions in 2001 while in the acceding countries the transport sector contributed only by 9 % to the total GHG emissions. In the EEA-EFTA countries this figure was 20 %.

Figures

Change in total GHG emissions from transport Change 1990-2001 refers to last available year for Iceland (2000), Liechtenstein (1999), Lithuania (1999), Slovenia (1996) and Turkey (2000).

Total EEA-31 greenhouse gas emissions from transport EU-15 refers to EU Member States, EEA-EFTA to the EFTA countries, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, AC-10 to acceding countries (Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia - no data available from Cyprus) and CC-3 to candidate countries (Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey).

Key assessment

GHG emissions from transport increased by 20 % between 1990 and 2001 in the EEA-31 countries. Emissions increased faster in the EEAï¿½EFTA and EU countries than in the acceding and candidate countries.In EU-15, GHG emissions from transport increased by 21 %; they contribute 86 % of total EEA-31 transport emissions.
The second largest group is the acceding countries with a share of 7 % in total EEA-31 transport emissions and an increase of 6 % between 1990 and 2001. A sharp decline in 1991 was followed by a slow reduction until 1995. Since 1995, GHG emissions from transport have been rising again, although there was a small reduction in 2000. The main reason for the emission reductions in the first half of the decade was the economic downturn after the fall of the Iron Curtain.
The candidate countries account for 6 % of total EEA-31 transport emissions and increased their emissions by 16 % between 1990 and 2001. The increase is mainly due to a growth of Turkish CO2 emissions by 38 %. Also Romanian GHG emissions from transport increased (+ 23 %), whereas the Bulgarian emissions declined considerably during the 1990s (- 43 %).
The EEA-EFTA countries, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, together account for 1.5 % of the total GHG emissions from transport in the EEA-31 area. The GHG emissions from transport in these three countries were 24 % above the 1990 levels in 2001. The emissions are dominated by Norway with an increase of 25 %.
The strong growth in the total GHG emissions is mainly attributable to the growth of road transport (both passenger and freight).