Transport is an essential human activity and has a critical role in social development. But the environmental costs of this energy-intensive sector are also critical. It generates 20 per cent of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions and has a significant impact on the surrounding eco-systems. While all modes of transport have environmental impacts, the most important is road transport which carries 70 per cent of all goods and people. As markets saturate in North America and western Europe, car manufacturers are looking at markets in developing countries where car ownership is extremely low. Much effort is needed to bridge the gap between increasing transport demands and sustainable development for which effective policies have to be devised.
| Speed and emission | |||||||
| The amount of pollutants released by private cars at various speeds | |||||||
| V km / h |
CO g / km |
HC g / km |
NOx g / km |
CO2 g / km |
Fuel
cons g / km |
Traffic type |
|
| Petrol car | 5 | 72 | 8.5 | 1.7 | 425.5 | 182 | slow urban |
| 25 | 0.25 | 3 | 2 | 174 | 65 | fluid urban | |
| 40 | 20 | 2.3 | 2.2 | 148 | 54.5 | slow road | |
| 70 | 16.4 | 1.6 | 2.7 | 140 | 51.5 | fluid road | |
| 100 | 15 | 1.3 | 3.1 | 151 | 56 | motorway | |
| 120 | 14 | 1.1 | 3.4 | 162 | 60 | motorway | |
| Gasoil* car | 5 | 2.6 | 0.8 | 2.1 | 485 | 156 | slow urban |
| 25 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 200 | 63 | fluid urban | |
| 40 | 0.7 | 0.15 | 0.5 | 171 | 54 | slow road | |
| 70 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 159 | 52 | fluid road | |
| 100 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 0.55 | 164 | 56 | motorway | |
| 120 | 0.6 | 0.06 | 0.6 | 172 | 60 | motorway | |
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