Monetary purchasing subsidies, super credits, tax exemptions and local incentives for industry and consumers: China is sparing no efforts in its drive towards market expansion for e-mobility. The motives of China’s industrial policy are straightforward, yet environmental protection as a driver is not equally unambiguous. Prevalent coal-fired electricity production is sparking doubts whether an electrification of motorised individual mobility has a positive impact on the climate. A Sino-German cooperation project addresses these issues by assessing the environmental impact of electric vehicles in China. As an important economic driver in China, the automotive sector is a significant provider of employment and shapes technological innovation. It has significantly contributed to China’s unprecedented economic growth over the past decades. Conversely, daunting climate and environmental concerns have cast a shadow on this development. Air pollution, noise, accidents, congestion – the list of very tangible, negative external effects of transport is long. Less perceptible, but…
In recent years, the demand for transportation of dangerous goods in China has been growing enormously. Yet, there is a serious lack of related road safety regulations. Safety awareness and conscious behaviour are still not common among road users. The raising number of road accidents, especially tank accidents with severe consequences cause concern and demand all parties involved to take actions. On the 11th of December 2014, the workshop on the topic “Transportation of Dangerous Goods” took place in Beijing, initiated by GIZ. During the event, Mr Helmut Rein from the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI) in Germany gave lectures on the legal framework on transportation of dangerous goods in the European Union (EU) and in Germany in particular. Participants of the workshop were Ministry of Transport (MOT), several transport offices from provincial level, Research Institute of Highway (RIOH), science institutes, scholars from universities and representatives from…
Sustainable urban transport (SUT) systems are urgently needed in developing and emerging economies world-wide. Fast rates of motorisation, especially increases in private car ownership and travel have already turned congestion, air pollution and noise into common problems in many emerging and developing cities. Due to lost time and higher transport costs, road congestion is estimated to cost Asian economies 2-5% of GDP per year already. Asian cities also suffer from the highest air pollution levels in the world with transport being one of its largest contributors. As the number and size of cities is growing, metropolises are increasingly facing challenges to develop high-quality infrastructure and operation for all modes, especially sustainable modes such as walking, cycling and public transport. Hence, urban transport is no longer only a local concern. National urban transport policies and programs are an opportunity for central governments to help cities cope with the related challenges. …
Quantification of transport related emissions is one of the key requirements in the effort to control GHG-emissions and pollutants in any form. The report GHG Reporting and Inventorying in Germany – Assessing transport related emissions provides an overview on the institutionalisation of inventory planning, preparation and management at the national level in Germany. It also includes a general description of the data and methods used for the calculation of transport related emissions in the national inventory. The report was developed by the IFEU Institute. Download the full report: “GHG Reporting and Inventorying in Germany (EN)” “GHG Reporting and Inventorying in Germany (CN)” GIZ China aims to assist their Chinese partners in the design and implementation of measures, strategies and standards for climate change mitigation, energy efficiency and environmental protection in China’s transport sector. Quantifying transport related emissions underlies many of these efforts and is therefore a focus of their work…
China, one of the most rapidly growing countries in the world, is experiencing rapid and substantial growth in economic and motorized mobility. Transport related energy consumption and pollution problems are poised to soar further. In 2008, consumption of fossil fuels in the transport sector accounted for 36% of national total fossil fuel consumption. A fundamental requirement in the effort to control GHG-emissions and pollutants in any form is to quantify the emissions being released. A robust approach to measure energy savings and emission reductions in the end of the designed schedule is an essential element in reviewing the performance. A reliable and transparent model should be applied to track the emission reductions, but so far this kind of model is not publicly available in China. Download the full report: “Data Availability for Measuring and Reporting Transport related GHG Emissions in Chinese Cities” The report on “Data Availability for Measuring and…
Until the late 1990s, the share of cycling in German cities decreased to – on average – less than 10 percent. However, a couple of cities – like e.g. Münster in western Germany – have proven, that it is possible to realize a high share of cycling and various benefits occur in terms of cost-effectiveness as well as environmental objectives. In addition, Münster with a cycling share of almost 40 percent always rated top in comparison of livability in cities. In the context of such experiences, in 1998 the Federal Ministry of Transportation, Building and Urban Development (BMVBS) decided to introduce a capacity building programme and take joint action with the provinces to start a revival of cycling in German cities: the idea of the National Cycling Plan was born. This plan, which focused on capacity building in cities (based on a prior needs assessment), turned out to be an…
China has experienced a substantial increase in the number of motor vehicles over the past two decades, and this trend is forecasted to continue. This rapid increase is severely alleviating the energy and material resources in China and elsewhere. Vehicle sales increased by 32% to 18.1 million in 2010, topping all previous worldwide records and securing China’s position as the world’s largest auto market (CATARC and CAAM, 2011). The electrification of motor vehicles is considered as an industry revolution to achieve sustainable transportation in China. Hybrid electric vehicles (HEV), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) and battery electric vehicles (BEV) are being demonstrated in pilot cities throughout China. The aim of this study is to provide a broad overview of the current status and future prospects of this electrification revolution, summarize the results of relevant environmental impact assessments, and propose recommendations for the most promising scenarios for tackling China’s climate and…
How to finance Sustainable Urban Transport was the main question during the 3-days workshop Prospects for National-Level Programmes and Funds for Sustainable Urban Transport in China. From 1st to 3rd of November 2012 GIZ, EMBARQ and SLOCAT in cooperation with CUSTReC jointly conducted this international expert workshop. Download here: [wpdm_file id=2] [wpdm_file id=5] Interactive discussions showed that funding of sustainable urban transport in China needs to be addressed in a comprehensive manner. Improving the actual funding will need to go hand in hand with institutional reforms at both the national and the local level. Some big cities in China have already started implementing sustainable transport infrastructure schemes as well as sustainable transport related policies and measures. At the same time other (mostly smaller) cities still lack the capacity and financial resources to improve their sustainable transport systems and policies. Therefore, China is facing two important questions in financing urban transport:…
On October 23rd, the Sino-German Project on Transport Demand Management (TDM) in Beijing released the study “Balancing Transport Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Cities – A Review of Practices in Germany”. It was conducted by the IFEU Institute – a leading think tank on sustainable transport in Germany – and gives a comprehensive review of basic principles and current practice. The objective of the study is to understand processes and methodologies applied by German cities (and London) to quantify GHG emissions in urban transport. It further gives first recommendations for the development of inventories and reduction scenarios for Beijing and other Chinese cities. The study is a sourcebook for those who work on emission quantification in urban transport in China but also other countries. It includes the following chapters: 1. Basics for calculation of GHG emissions from transport activities 2. Emission factor databases and inventory models 3. GHG balancing methods 4.…
Conventional transport planning solutions often have effects contradicting transport system efficiency and emission reduction targets. Innovative and effective transport demand management solutions, however, help to achieve multiple planning objectives. Based on the existing knowledge in China about TDM strategies, the aim of this report is to discuss the potential of TDM strategies to contribute to climate change mitigation and identify the most promising options for Chinese cities. To attain that, the report focuses on success factors of international examples of effective policy formulation and implementation (including London, Singapore, New York, Berlin, Seoul and San Francisco among others). “Reducing Carbon Emissions through TDM Strategies”
