Environmental External Costs of Transport

Transport causes a wide range of damage to human health, ecosytems and materials which are not reflected in the prices for transport. Thus, the damage caused by cars, planes, ships and trains should be known and transformed into monetary values, so called external costs. Within this book, a method to estimate the external costs stemming from the emissions of atmospheric pollutants of transport, including damage from greenhouse gases, fine particles, ozone, nitrous oxides, benzene and other carcinogenic substances, is described and applied to calculate the external costs of a huge number of current and future transport techniques operating in different locations all over Europe. A number of case studies demonstrate how the results can be used to aid policy decisions. The book is an important basis for assessing transport techniques, discussing transport taxes and charges and implementing ecopolitical instruments.Transport causes a wide range of damage to human health, ecosystems and materials. This damage should be taken into account when making decisions, i.e. it should be reflected in the prices for transport. The damagae caused by cars, planes, ships and trains should be calculated and transformed into monetary values - so called external costs. In this book we endeavour to evaluate the external costs stemming from the emissions of atmospheric pollutants caused by transport, including damage from greenhouse gases, fine particles, ozone, nitrous oxides and benzene as well as other carciogenic substances, so as to be able to calculate the external costs of a huge number of current and future modes of transport operating in different locations all over Europe. The results offer an important basis for assessing modes of transport, discussing transport taxes and charges and implementing green accounting.