Transport Policy and the Environment

The growing concern about environmental pollution has forced Governments to look for more efficient ways of protecting the environment. Transport and in particular motor vehicles, are a major source of pollution and in the developed world, accounts for 30% of energy consumption. There are a number of countries in which tentative policies dealing with this are emerging. However, no policy can work if it is not properly co-ordinated with policies carried out in economic sectors where environmentally disruptive activities are taking place. For instance, while implementing environmental regulations, governments should ensure that existing regulations, tax structure or agricultural, energy or transport practices do not conteract environmental protection. This book, commissioned by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, looks at transport policies in seven countries - the UK, the USA, West Germany, France, the Netherlands, Greece and Italy. In each case problems have resulted from a failure stemming from the partial thinking of the different departments involved. In providing critiques of each failure, the authors have provided models for the way forward.