Review of sustainable development of the road transport sector – are there geographical differences?

Abstract

Even though the share of renewable energy in the transport sector has increased during the last decade, the sector is still highly dependent on fossil fuels. Consequences are for example emissions of greenhouse gases, particulates, carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides. This is of great concern for the environment, climate change, and human health. This study reviews scientific publications about sustainable development of the road transport sector, published 2005-2018. The aim of the study is to investigate if there are differences in the measures and strategies presented in the publications depending on the geographical areas studied, and to analyse if there are differences depending on year of publication. The authors analysed to what extent local conditions influence the choice of proposed measures and strategies. A system perspective was applied in order to include measures related to the whole life cycle of the road transport, as well as other sectors, which influence or are influenced by the transport sector. A literature review was performed using the search-engine Web of Science. Results show that important local conditions that may influence the research focus within the area of sustainable development of the road transport sector are for example: energy supply security (e.g. availability of biomass and renewable electricity, as well as access to domestic fossil fuel resources), possibilities for developing infrastructure for biofuel supply and charging of electric vehicles, political priorities and approaches, and traditions.