Reduction of Environmental Pressure from Car Transport - Extended Summary

Chapter 3: State and Development of Danish Road Transport

Inventory of transport and environmental impact today

Chapter 3 describes Danish road transport in a number of quantitative entities that provide the background and yardstick for the future reduction targets. This includes an inventory of the passenger transport work, the breakdown of the transport by branches and purposes of travel, and the transport's consumption of materials and energy and emission of carbon dioxide (CO₂), hydrocarbons (HC), and nitric oxides (NOx).

The inventories of the consumption of materials and energy and emission of CO₂ include the most significant items within the marketed consumption that can be associated with car transport. The so-called "ecological rucksack", which consists of the materials that are "moved" in connection with extraction of raw materials, etc., is not included. The inventory covers three main groups:

1. Construction and maintenance of roads;
   
2. consumption of motor fuel and the energy for its production; and
   
3. consumption of materials, spare parts, and energy for the production of motorcars.

The results of the inventories for passenger car transport are shown in Table 1. In the table the inventory of total consumption is complemented with figures for the intensity of materials consumption (MIPS)[1], the consumption of energy, and the emission of CO₂.

Table 1. Materials, energy use and CO₂ emission in today´s situation

link to table

In Fig. 1 the distribution of materials and energy consumption, as well as the emission of CO₂, on the main groups is combined into one figure.

Fig. 1. The breakdown of materials, energy and the emission of CO₂.

Fuels are the biggest item

Motor fuel – including the production of the fuel – generally represent the biggest share, although the share has been somewhat reduced in respect of the consumption of materials, where road construction and maintenance account for the biggest share.

Road construction and maintenance account for a substantial part of the consumption of materials from car transport, but their role in connection with energy consumption and CO₂ emission is very small.

In contrast, the production of motorcars and spare parts represent approximately the same share of the consumption/emission for materials, energy and CO₂.

[1] MIPS = Materials Intensity per Service Unit