In 1990 the Federal Republic of Germany committed itself to a 25% reduction in total carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by the year 2005. In this paper, strategies for reducing CO2 emissions in transport are discussed. The first section is devoted to a short history and description of factual German transport policy aimed at reducing the emission of air pollutants. In order to analyze the relative merits of the various strategies which might be envisaged to reduce CO2 emissions from the transport sector, a systemic view of the objectives of environmental protection policy in the transport sector is provided. Then some ideas concerning adjustment costs are developed. The role of technology, environmental consciousness, prices, and land use patterns is then discussed. The paper concludes by evaluating the role of pricing policies and strategies for the development of meta-strategies aimed at a reduction of CO2 emissions at a local/ regional, national, and supranational level in order to reduce the greenhouse effect.
Samenvatting