Carbon Emissions in Transportation: A Synthesis Framework

Ana Luiza Carvalho Ferrer and Antonio Márcio Tavares Thomé ()
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Ana Luiza Carvalho Ferrer: Industrial Engineering Department, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 38097, Brazil
Antonio Márcio Tavares Thomé: Industrial Engineering Department, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 38097, Brazil

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 11, 1-28

Abstract: With the growing concern worldwide regarding greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and their impacts on human health and the environment, transportation has become a central theme in their mitigation, responsible for 15% of anthropogenic GHG, 23% of global energy-related, and 8.7 Gt CO 2 -eq emissions. This study’s objective was to comprehensively review the current state of carbon mitigation in the transportation sector. This was conducted through a systematic literature review based on the multi-level perspective of socio-technical transition theory and structural contingency theory. In total, 30 review papers covering 3561 original articles were selected for full-text examination. The main findings were related to the fact that in order to build resilience against climate change, transportation services must adapt to the current scenario and act quickly to avert future changes. Enablers, barriers, benefits, disadvantages, and metrics in carbon emission reduction were identified. A comprehensive framework and a dynamic co-word analysis emphasised the interrelationships among the dimensions of sustainability transition in transportation. Important trade-offs among the transition dimensions are context-dependent and should be adapted to different countries and transport modes to succeed. The study sheds light on the need to investigate mitigation’s often-neglected consequences and disadvantages.

Keywords: sustainability; socio-technical transitions; contingency theory (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:11:p:8475-:d:1153803

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