We humans are a part of the ecological system and not, as many once believed, the lords and masters of nature and all her resources, disposing and using them as we see fit. Fortunately a change has become apparent during recent decades, even though much remains to be done.
Everyone concerned with transport in its various aspects has a great responsibility for the environment, because the transport system requires large-scale resources in the form of natural assets and energy. Transport of course helps to shape the development of our society and few of us are able to imagine a society without access to cars, boats, buses, trains and aeroplanes. Therefore we have a duty to do our share to improve the environment.
In step with changes in society, so have transport systems, vehicles and logistics evolved into new forms. When environmental problems became topics of current concern, the transport system was forced to take part in the contemporary debate and suggest some positive changes. Since then, laws have been changed, taxes redistributed and technology has shifted direction.
Environmental goal
The EU and other industrialized countries resolved at a UN conference in Kyoto in 1997 that we should jointly reduce emissions of carbon dioxide by about 5% reckoned from the 1990 level until the years 2008-2012. The United States has not signed the agreement but since Russia did sign it, the agreement came into force in February 2005. The result since 1997 has been less satisfactory: our emissions have increased instead. The major part of the increase stems from road transport, which in other words means that something radical must be done. We simply have to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
Environmental and health effects of traffic
The environmental and health effects of vehicular traffic can be grouped according to their geographical distribution:
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global effects threaten to change the climate
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regional effects impinge upon the natural environment
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local effects manifest themselves mainly as health risks