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Economic growth and transport: On the road to sustainability
Author(s) -
Sousa Cátia,
RosetaPalma Catarina,
Martins Luís Filipe
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
natural resources forum
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.646
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 1477-8947
pISSN - 0165-0203
DOI - 10.1111/1477-8947.12060
Subject(s) - greenhouse gas , sustainability , cointegration , context (archaeology) , gross domestic product , sustainable transport , natural resource economics , order (exchange) , road transport , sustainable development , economics , public transport , business , environmental economics , transport engineering , economic growth , engineering , ecology , paleontology , finance , econometrics , biology
Transport sustainability is an essential driving force towards achieving sustainable development. In particular, greenhouse gas ( GHG ) reduction policies cannot overlook the growing importance of the transport sector as economies expand. In this context, it is important to assess the relationship between carbon dioxide ( CO 2 ) emissions from the transport sector and economic growth, in order to design adequate transport policies. This paper tests the stated relationship for the Portuguese transport sector, using a non‐linear cointegration methodology for the first time in this field. The main conclusion is that gross domestic product ( GDP ) and CO 2 emissions from transport exhibit an increasing monotonic relationship, indicating that economic growth per se will be insufficient to mitigate the emissions. Therefore, it is necessary to search for concrete public policies that can influence both passenger travel behaviour and freight mobility plans, so as to reduce CO 2 emissions without compromising economic development.