Abstract

The continuous growth of transport sector and the increase in carbon emissions from transportation attract the attention of policy makers in sustainable transportation. Therefore, it is of great importance to understand the determinants of pollution from transportation. The aim of this study is to analyze the impacts of economic growth, renewable energy consumption and urbanization on CO₂ emissions from transport sector in an Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) framework for European countries. To end this, second-generation panel long-run estimates and non-causality test are applied on the dataset from 1980–2014. Empirical pieces of evidence show that increases in renewable energy consumption mitigate carbon emissions from transportation, while urbanization has statistically insignificant positive impact on pollution. An increase in renewable energy consumption reduces CO₂ from transportation by about 12 percent. The EKC hypothesis is validated. Moreover, unidirectional causality runs from renewable energy, economic growth and urbanization to emissions in transport sector. The findings of this study suggest strengthening the sustainable transportation system by promoting eco-friendly and energy-efficient modes of transportation and increase the environmental awareness of urban population and their overall concerns related to environmental issues caused by transportation. This study provides concrete evidence to the policy makers of European countries for especially sector-based renewable energy projects, drawing attention to the greenhouse gas impact of European transportation sector.

Graphic abstract

中文翻译：

---

分析欧洲国家交通运输产生的碳排放的决定因素：可再生能源和城市化的作用

摘要

运输部门的持续增长和运输产生的碳排放量的增加吸引了决策者对可持续运输的关注。因此，了解运输污染的决定因素非常重要。这项研究的目的是分析经济增长，可再生能源消耗和城市化对CO _2的影响欧洲国家环境库兹涅茨曲线（EKC）框架中运输部门的排放量。为此，对1980-2014年的数据集应用了第二代专家组的长期估计和非因果检验。经验证据表明，可再生能源消耗的增加减轻了交通运输过程中的碳排放，而城市化对污染的积极影响在统计上可忽略不计。可再生能源消耗的增加减少了CO ₂来自运输的约12％。EKC假设得到验证。此外，单向因果关系从可再生能源，经济增长和城市化到运输部门的排放。这项研究的结果表明，通过促进生态友好和节能的运输方式来加强可持续的运输系统，并提高城市人口的环境意识以及他们对与运输引起的环境问题有关的整体关注。这项研究为欧洲国家的决策者提供了具体的证据，特别是针对基于部门的可再生能源项目，提请人们注意欧洲交通部门对温室气体的影响。

图形摘要