Is the Green Wave Really Green? The Risks of Rebound Effects When Implementing “Green” Policies

Elisabeth Bloder and Georg Jäger
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Elisabeth Bloder: Institute of Systems Sciences, Innovation and Sustainability Research, University of Graz, 8010 Graz, Austria
Georg Jäger: Institute of Systems Sciences, Innovation and Sustainability Research, University of Graz, 8010 Graz, Austria

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 10, 1-11

Abstract: Traffic and transportation are main contributors to the global CO 2 emissions and resulting climate change. Especially in urban areas, traffic flow is not optimal and thus offers possibilities to reduce emissions. The concept of a Green Wave, i.e., the coordinated switching of traffic lights in order to favor a single direction and reduce congestion, is often discussed as a simple mechanism to avoid breaking and accelerating, thereby reducing fuel consumption. On the other hand, making car use more attractive might also increase emissions. In this study, we use an agent-based model to investigate the benefit of a Green Wave in order to find out whether it can outweigh the effects of increased car use. We find that although the Green Wave has the potential to reduce emissions, there is also a high risk of heaving a net increase in emissions, depending on the specifics of the traffic system.

Keywords: traffic modelling; traffic flow optimisation; urban CO 2 emissions; green wave; agent-based modelling (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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