Transport and Climate Change

Recent advancements in the Vehicle Routing Problem have increasingly focused on incorporating environmental concerns in the transportation planning process. Traditionally, transportation optimization efforts centered on minimizing costs, time, or distance. However, as sustainability and environmental cost control have gained importance, logistics companies and retailers are progressively adopting environmentally sustainable practices. This paradigm shift has resulted in the development of the Pollution-Routing Problem (PRP), which seeks to align economic and environmental objectives in transportation. Despite the substantial body of research on PRP, a comprehensive systematic review of its methodological developments has been lacking. This review chapter identifies current gaps by mapping the progression of the PRP literature since its introduction in 2011, classifying studies based on the methodologies utilized over time. Furthermore, this chapter highlights several promising research directions, offering a framework for future exploration in this domain.

As urban areas and the global urban population grow, transport remains a major consumer of environmental resources and a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. Developing efficient, eco-friendly urban transport is thus a key challenge for future cities. Electrification of public transport presents a promising solution, offering high efficiency with low environmental impact. Poland presents an intriguing case in urban electromobility, with its established electric public transport networks (trams, trolleybuses, and urban rail) alongside rapid deployment of modern battery electric buses across many cities. As a notable producer of low-emission vehicles, Poland demonstrates varied levels of electromobility adoption across its cities. Since around 2015, Polish cities have taken diverse approaches: some cities with extensive tram systems, including Wrocław and Łódź, have been cautious about electric buses, while others, such as Warsaw and Kraków, embraced large-scale electric bus programs. Additionally, smaller towns like Miechów and Ząbkowice Śląskie adopted electric buses as they introduced public transport for the first time. Olsztyn stands out as the only Central European city to reintroduce trams after dismantling its network fifty years ago. In general, urban electromobility adoption correlates with high socioeconomic development and supportive environmental and technological factors, reflecting a commitment to making cities more sustainable and attractive.

Transportation and land use systems have environmental impacts on human settlements. Transportation emits pollutants through fuel combustion, while land use leaves ecological footprints. Addressing the exacerbation of climate change consequences requires diligent attention to policies aimed at reducing emissions. Meanwhile, the interplay between land use and transportation systems necessitates a coherent framework to guide future development and retrofit existing infrastructure. Furthermore, emerging autonomous vehicles (AVs) offer an opportunity to mitigate transportation-related environmental impacts that affect land use patterns. However, AV adoption rates (ARs) vary, and analyzing how AV usage together with land use allocation optimization could contribute to the CO₂ footprint reduction urges investigation. This matter, which has analytical and prescriptive implications, requires the development of optimization models that combine land use and transportation systems concerning the carbon footprint objectives. Taking the interconnection and hierarchy between land use allocation and traffic assignment decisions, this chapter presents a bi-level co-evolution model. The upper level models the emission of the whole system (land use together with transportation), and the lower level formulates mixed traffic assignment. Then, a solution framework, including a genetic algorithm and gradient projection method, is introduced and applied to analyze several scenarios. This study contributes to the literature by providing a bi-level co-evolution model for land use and AV adoption optimization and presenting ideas for solving the formulated problem. It also offers insights into mitigating carbon footprint when communities go toward adopting AVs and environmental-based optimal land use and transportation patterns. The obtained results show that utilizing AVs and optimized land use allocation could be effective in decreasing the CO₂ footprint.

Rapid urbanization and climate change are pressing issues that require innovative, research-based methods for mitigation and preparedness. This chapter explores the potential of the smart city concept, specifically smart parking systems, in managing the environmental impact of the transportation sector and enhancing climate change preparedness. A conceptual, semi-structured literature review approach is applied to investigate the utilization of sensor networks and crowdsensing and explore their role in informing policy decisions and fostering the creation of smart cities. Moreover, this chapter presents a conceptual model of smart parking, which provides a detailed examination of the main components, including information sensing, infrastructure, direction guidance, reservation handling, and payment. The chapter concludes by discussing how this conceptual model can be applied in crisis management, including disruptions caused by climate change.

Urban areas face increasing challenges due to climate change impacts, prompting the need for innovative transportation solutions that mitigate emissions and enhance resilience. This chapter explores the role of micromobility in urban climate mitigation, with a focus on the unique experience from Slovakia. Micromobility, with bicycles, shared bicycles, and scooters, emerges as a promising solution for curbing greenhouse gas emissions and promoting sustainable urban mobility. These micromobility options can navigate city streets and congested traffic more efficiently than traditional vehicles, presenting efficient alternatives for short-distance travel. However, their potential to help achieve environmental goals is often obstructed by the insufficient knowledge of travel patterns. Drawing on a case study, this chapter employs a data-driven approach to understand the environmental advantages of micromobility, underscoring its role in mitigating climate change impacts within the Slovak urban context. It also examines factors influencing the adoption and success of micromobility programs, including infrastructure development and policy frameworks. The findings underscore micromobility’s potential in bolstering urban climate resilience and guide the development of strategies to encourage the mode shift from car travel to more space-efficient and healthier transport options, contributing to a more sustainable and livable urban environment.

This study addresses the need for a comprehensive systematic literature review on electric cargo bikes (ECBs), focusing on research published since 2020 to account for recent advancements. Given ECBs’ potential to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and alleviate urban congestion, their integration in both commercial and personal transportation holds significant promise. ECBs serve as an efficient intermediary between traditional cargo bikes and motor vehicles, offering increased load capacity and extended travel ranges. Our methodology involves systematically searching major scientific databases, including Google Scholar and Scopus, with keywords “Electric Cargo Bikes” and “ECBs”. The present survey study explores the potential role of ECBs, highlighting their practical advantages. Findings from this review contribute to understanding ECBs’ potential and pave the way for future research in sustainable transport solutions. Critical research gaps that require more attention from communities in the following years are discussed in detail as well.

This chapter focuses on the changes in the last-mile delivery market in terms of its adaptation to ongoing processes and challenges related to both climate policy requirements and growing expectations of authorities and society. The study fits into the broader context of the transformation of the entire transport sector towards achieving climate neutrality. The aim of the study is to identify promising transport and logistics decarbonization tools and assess their importance from the perspective of shaping innovative and zero-emission last-mile delivery strategies. The techniques and research methods used included: content analysis, cause-effect analysis, and applicable quantitative and qualitative analysis methods. These methods were employed to discover and elaborate on the results of the study conducted among representatives of entities carrying out last-mile deliveries. The evaluation of instruments for decarbonizing last-mile deliveries refers to the theory of targeted technological progress in the environmental context. The low-emission transformation of urban transport is one of the priorities of the European Union. The challenges related to last-mile deliveries are causing growing interest in concepts for implementing them in an increasingly sustainable manner. Their implementation is to be supported by actions to reduce the transport intensity of the economy, as well as actions to better organize last-mile logistics.

Network design is a critical topic in supply chain management, integrating forward and reverse flows to create a closed-loop supply chain (CLSC) network. In the tire industry, CLSC networks must strategically address facility location and allocation across multiple levels, including suppliers, manufacturers, retailers, and markets for forward flows, and collectors, recyclers, and secondary markets for reverse flows. With the rapid growth in demand for tire manufacturing, existing CLSC networks often fail to meet the escalating of demand satisfaction, necessitating a comprehensive redesign to enhance facility location and capacity planning performance. This paper proposes a novel framework for redesigning CLSC networks in the tire industry by formulating a mixed-integer programming (MIP) model that incorporates unique challenges specific to network redesign. Most importantly, the network design for the CLSC differs significantly from the CLSC network redesign. In the latter, facilities are divided into two subsets: a set of open facilities and a set of candidate facilities. The decisions involved not only pertain to the opening of candidate facilities but also to the closure of existing open facilities, while balancing the varying fixed and variable costs associated with these transitions. The developed MIP model for the network redesign problem explicitly accounts for these decisions, providing a practical tool for addressing real-world complexities within the CLSC for the tire industry. Extensive sensitivity analyses are conducted to evaluate the impact of key parameters, such as network redesign costs and recycling efficiency. The results help the CLSC networks to optimize their CLSC to achieve higher efficiency and better demand satisfaction. This research not only highlights the importance of network adaptability but also provides an efficient decision-support tool for redesigning CLSC systems in high-demand industries.

Climate change and the energy crisis have become pressing problems nowadays like never before. As a result, the European Union (EU) is increasingly promoting energy-efficient modes in all aspects of life, and the transport sector is no different. Initiatives to reform the transport sector in the EU started as early as the 2000s. At that time, these objectives focused on various strategies, including the promotion of biofuels. The global events of the following decades (i.e., economic recessions, war conflicts, the increasingly tangible consequences of climate change, etc.) required a change of attitude and a new approach to transport from the EU. These processes and their subsequent effects have contributed towards a target of 42.5% renewable share by 2030, mainly driven by facilitating the increasing utilization of electric cars. At the moment, it seems that thanks to the new directive, the use of biofuels will be pushed into the background—at least no further increase in the blending rate is expected—and the green transport reform is expected from electric vehicles, while the promotion of hydrogen-powered vehicles is also imminent. The development of electric cars is certainly remarkable, but their limitations should not be overlooked. Electric cars can only be considered truly zero-emission vehicles if the electricity used as “fuel” is generated from renewable energy. An important question is that whether electric cars can really change the entire transportation sector and lead to a more sustainable and cleaner life, or they are just a transition towards further innovations. The present chapter explores these issues and provides interesting insights.

The purpose of this chapter is to outline the operating principles of low emission zones (LEZs) in European countries and to evaluate their effectiveness. The impact of LEZs on urban sustainable development and climate change mitigation is assessed through a systematic review of the literature and practical applications. The chapter reviews a number of operational principles based on legal frameworks, technology-driven enforcement, and access control systems, which are essential for successful LEZ implementation. It also addresses the challenges faced and the costs of compliance for residents and businesses, emphasising the need for supportive urban policies and alternative transportation options. The study highlights significant achievements in pollutant reduction, with certain LEZ models demonstrating remarkable effectiveness in improving air quality. The key findings indicate that well-implemented LEZs can significantly reduce urban transport emissions, contributing positively to public health and environmental goals. The conclusion synthesises the primary contributions of the research, suggesting that effective LEZs are crucial for advancing health, equity, and urban policy. The chapter underscores the need to integrate LEZs with broader urban development strategies to ensure that future sustainability goals are met. The findings advocate policies that will enhance public acceptance and promote equitable outcomes.

The transportation sector significantly contributes to climate change through greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, yet it often lacks comprehensive strategies for effective mitigation. Current approaches tend to focus narrowly on improving vehicle efficiency and reducing traffic volumes, which oversimplifies the complex challenges faced by this sector. This chapter argues that a more integrated and systematic proposal for mitigation measures is essential, particularly within the framework of environmental impact assessments. The proposed approach is global, referencing researches and key studies from all around the word. The central point is that the development of a clear typology of mitigation measures—encompassing preventive, corrective, and compensatory strategies—is crucial for addressing the climate impacts of transportation projects. By prioritizing prevention and incorporating actionable strategies at the project level, this study seeks to fill a significant gap in existing methodologies. Through a thorough analysis of current practices, literature review, and insights from international best practices, the chapter proposes a strategic management framework aimed at enhancing the environmental performance of transport systems. It emphasizes the need for local and regional authorities to take ownership of implementation processes, ensuring that interventions are contextually relevant and effective. Ultimately, this research aims to contribute to the sustainable development of transport systems that are resilient to climate change and aligned with broader environmental goals.

In April 2024, Germany enacted a new law that deviated from its previous policy of formulating sectorial climate targets for individual policy areas. The primary rationale for this decision was the failure to achieve the targets set for the transport sector for an extended period of time. Achieving quite ambitious targets for the transport sector would have resulted in immediate measures, such as driving bans. This chapter examines the question of sectorial differentiation of policy objectives using three representative examples: (1) the targets for designating areas for wind energy; (2) the quantitative target of new housing development; and (3) the 30-hectare land-saving target. It is evident that there are differences between the policy fields in terms of the disaggregation of targets, which also depends on the political context. The question of whether disaggregating targets is an effective approach to achieve them better in a scientific view cannot be answered with certainty. At the end, this can be viewed as a question that is associated with a political risk.

The transportation sector is essential for the global economic and social progress but also significantly contributes to greenhouse gas emissions and climate change. While the application of digital twin technology has been noted in various sectors, such as aerospace, it has only recently begun to expand into the transportation field. This chapter explores the transformative potential of digital twin technology in developing sustainable and resilient transportation systems. Digital twins are dynamic virtual replicas of physical systems that incorporate real-time data and advanced analytics to enhance transportation networks’ performance, adaptability, and efficiency. This study is grounded in a systematic literature review that analyzes the latest research, specifically, peer-reviewed publications from 2018 onwards, focused on the use of digital twin technology in future mobility and optimizing transport network management and supply chains. Real-world applications, such as the Thameslink Railway Program and the Port of Rotterdam, demonstrate how digital twins can enhance energy consumption and streamline logistics operations. The research presented in this chapter contributes to the current understanding of digital twin technology by critically examining its dual benefits and highlighting its role in adaptation and mitigation strategies to improve transportation resilience against climate change and extreme weather conditions. Furthermore, it addresses the implementation challenges and provides recommendations for future research.

This study presents a comparative analysis of transport operations and environmentally sustainable practices in the Rhine-Alpine Corridor (RAC) and the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC). Using a mixed-method approach, the research evaluates emission reduction strategies, renewable energy integration, and climate resilience measures across these corridors, revealing distinct approaches shaped by their developmental contexts. The findings demonstrate the RAC’s successful implementation of multimodal integration and green technologies, achieving a 25% reduction in CO₂ emissions through systematic electrification and modal shift strategies. The DMIC showcases innovative approaches to environmental sustainability through comprehensive planning, targeting a 40% reduction in carbon emissions via renewable energy integration and smart city development. Key recommendations include prioritising rail transport electrification, implementing corridor-wide environmental monitoring systems, and establishing robust climate adaptation frameworks. This study emphasises the importance of context-specific environmental strategies while highlighting opportunities for knowledge transfer between developed and developing transport systems. The present research contributes valuable insights for policymakers and practitioners in sustainable transport infrastructure development, particularly in addressing climate change challenges while maintaining operational efficiency.

The maritime supply chain has faced unfolded challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, geopolitical conflicts, ever-changing trade routes and freight patterns, and keen competition. In particular, the Greater Bay Area and Southeast Asia region are identified as emerging areas that are located near the coastal area and associated with loose environmental regulations and the rapid growth of industrialization. As such, the maritime supply chain may face vulnerability that induces severe disturbance arising from maritime supply chain risks and adversely impacts the maritime supply chain’s ability to deliver to the end customer market effectively. There is a need for a resilient maritime supply chain in the Greater Bay Area and Southeast Asia region. This chapter aims to conduct a systematic review on maritime supply chain resilience from 1997 to 2023. The systematic review identifies the most influential scholars, countries, and institutions working on this topic. Based on the systematic review findings, we can address the urgency of maritime supply chain resilience. In the meantime, there is an increasing trend of academic scholars who establish interdisciplinary research teams to generate impactful research outputs in response to the complex business environment. Moreover, a series of in-depth, semi-structured interviews are conducted with industrial practitioners, policymakers, logistics associations, researchers, and environmental representatives to investigate the key challenges of the maritime supply chain in the Greater Bay Area and Southeast Asia region, recognize port infrastructure disruptions because of climate change, and point out how to develop resilience-building capacities (i.e., absorptive, recovery, and adaptive).

Berth allocation and scheduling at marine container terminals (MCTs) are crucial for optimizing port operations and maintaining the efficiency of maritime logistics under the pressures of increasing global trade flows and operational complexities. One of the most concerning challenges associated with berth allocation and scheduling is its environmental impact, particularly the carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions generated during port operations. This study introduces a Customized Hyperheuristic Algorithm (CHA) to solve a mathematical optimization model formulated for the green berth allocation and scheduling problem, which integrates environmental considerations to minimize both the operational costs and the CO₂ emissions during vessel waiting and handling operations. CHA employs a dynamic selection mechanism that adaptively chooses heuristic operators based on their ongoing performance, enhancing the traditional framework of typical heuristic and metaheuristic algorithms. Detailed computational experiments compared CHA with established optimization techniques, such as CPLEX, ant colony optimization (ACO), simulated annealing (SA), tabu search (TS), and evolutionary algorithm (EA), which were all customized for the specific settings of the problem. It was found that CHA was able to match the objective values returned by CPLEX for small instances. Moreover, CHA outperformed ACO, SA, TS, and traditional EA by up to 8.22%, 6.96%, 9.32%, and 4.34% for large-scale instances in terms of the best values of the objective function recorded over five consecutive replications. These objective function improvements also resulted in lower emissions. Additional experiments presented some insights into port management. This study clearly demonstrated the applicability and effectiveness of CHA for sustainable and environment-friendly berth planning in real-world marine terminal operations.

Stricter decarbonization targets force shipping companies to reassess their transition strategy that needs to be economical and compliant with the regulatory targets of the future. This study aims to illustrate the steps that companies may take to achieve these goals for various sizes of container vessels and routes. The decarbonization strategy to be implemented must consider retrofit costs, new shipbuilding prices, efficiencies in new ship design, maintenance, and downtime costs. Through scenario analysis, the study aims to highlight how the decision changes based on the implementation of Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII) and penalties related to the violation of different potential emissions reduction policies. The study reveals that the transition strategies of shipping companies vary based on ship sizes, highlighting the need for tailored approaches in the decarbonization process. The strategies for the same ship size operating on different routes are nearly equivalent. Future fuel price forecasts are crucial in influencing decisions related to ship purchases and retrofits, as economic viability remains a primary concern for the industry. For penalties to be effective in driving change, they must be substantial enough to compel shipping companies to adopt cleaner technologies and fuels. Moreover, clarity on potential future greenhouse gas (GHG) policies and regulations is essential for companies to navigate their decarbonization strategies effectively. The study underscores the complex interplay of environmental regulations, financial considerations, and fuel choices in shaping the decisions of shipping companies for various container vessel sizes.

With the surge of maritime trade and the development of port infrastructure, the pollution of the environment by shipping activities is becoming more and more obvious. Therefore, this chapter discusses the research progress of ship carbon emissions and makes an in-depth analysis of the green port initiatives at Xiamen Port. At present, the measures for the green initiatives for ships at ports are mainly divided based on three aspects: alternative fuels, onshore power supply, and policy improvement. All three aspects have different perspectives. Most scholars put forward emission reduction measures for onshore power supply and alternative fuels, whereas policy improvement is viewed as a comprehensive embodiment of these two groups of measures and also the basis for the development of green ports. This study evaluates the effectiveness of these three aspects and analyzes the existing green initiatives of Xiamen Port according to these three aspects. The importance of Xiamen Port in the cruise shipping network is assessed as well. In addition, the economic and social benefits brought by the green initiatives at Xiamen Port are evaluated in detail. Finally, a set of constructive recommendations are proposed to facilitate the green transformation of Xiamen Port. These recommendations focus on monitoring of ship emissions, green shipping infrastructure development, improvement of green shipping policies, financial incentives, and collaborative initiatives.