Tackling Transport-Induced Pollution in Cities: A case Study in Paris

Marion Leroutier and Philippe Quirion

No 2021.07, Working Papers from FAERE - French Association of Environmental and Resource Economists

Abstract: Urban road transport is an important source of local pollution and CO2 emissions. To tackle these externalities, it is crucial to understand who contributes to emissions today and what are the alternatives to high-emission trips. We estimate individual contributions to transport-induced emissions, by bringing together data from a travel demand survey in the Paris area and emission factor data for local pollutants and CO2. We document high inequalities in emissions, with the top 20% of emitters contributing 75-85% of emissions on a representative weekday, depending on the pollutant. Top emissions result from a combination of high distances travelled, a high reliance on car and, mainly for local pollutants, a higher emission intensity of cars. We estimate with counterfactual travel times that 53% of current car drives could be shifted to electric bikes or public transport with a limited time increase. This would reduce the emissions from daily mobility by 19-21%, with corresponding annual health and climate benefits of around €245m.

Keywords: environmental inequalities; externalities; empirical analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q52 Q53 R40 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 66 pages
Date: 2021-05
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ene, nep-env, nep-tre and nep-ure
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:fae:wpaper:2021.07

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