Individual CO2 emissions and the potential for reduction in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom

Abstract

Using National Travel survey data from the Netherlands and the United Kingdom (UK), this paper examines how passenger transport emissions are divided across society and how similar this distribution is across these two countries. By looking across a series of data over time, the paper examines the extent to which the socio-economic characteristics of the main contributors of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are similar in these two countries. Based on the profiles of the main CO2 contributor, relevant policy measures are examined. The general effectiveness and acceptability of these measures are then discussed by drawing on pan-European (Eurobarometer) survey results. Analyses reveal that around 10% of the Dutch population is responsible for almost half of all travelrelated CO2 emissions in the Netherlands. Similarly, in the UK, around 20% of the population is responsible of the 60% of passenger transport-related CO2 emissions. Analysis of pan-European opinion surveys shows that there is a clear awareness among majority of the population that the type of car and the way it is used has an important impact on the environment. Despite this awareness, only a minority seem prepared to take action to reduce the environmnental consequences of their travel behaviour. The study supports the argument that the willingness to change behaviour is a complex mixture of individual and social interests. A major challenge is how to encourage changes in behaviour to reduce transport emissions with the right policies at the right time in the right place.Urban and Regional DevelopmentOTB Research Institut