Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Fuel taxes were not initially designed for environmental purposes, but their
consequences are certainly environmental. The stated motives for fuel taxes vary
considerably from one place to another
[5]
. Nowadays, fuel taxes could play a
crucial role to motivate a change, but still it is difficult to implement as policies are
shaped by economic interest, and the growing dependence of cars among the popu-
lation makes it unpopular
[6]
.
There are several economical studies based on the topic of searching for the
optimal carbon-tax system to achieve some certain abatement objectives and sus-
tain the macroeconomic welfare
[7-10]
. Others have propound an integrated
economy-climate model under a system dynamics (SD) approach
[11, 12]
. In this
study fuel taxes will be evaluated as an important instrument for the environment
and urban sustainability. Using a system dynamic approach for urban mobility, this
study shows how the energy taxation policy can contribute to the climate policy.
A target looking up process will be developed in order to define the level of a CO2
emissions fuel duty necessary to achieve a specific CO2 reduction target on a
regional area. Madrid Regional area was used as case study.
Methodology
System Dynamics
Falling CO2 emission level can be derived from a reduction of fuel consumption
(due to a change on driving behavior, optimization or cutting fuel consumption on
vehicles, alternative fuels…), a change on the mode of transport to a “greener” one
(due to the promotion of public transport, cycling or pedestrian routes, promote car
sharing, pricing or market-driven measures, transit oriented design of new develop-
ments…), or even avoiding the need to transport (through mixed urban planning, use
of telematics…). Due to the complexity and multifaceted of the transport system and
its connections - interactions to other subsystems (economic, social, health, environ-
ment, territory or activities allocations, etc.), traditional econometric approach
may have limitations. Thus, in this case, a system dynamic approach is propounded.
A system is defined as a group of entities which act and interact toward the achieve-
ment of a specific reason. This system may just represent a part or a subset of an
overall system. It is called dynamic if its interactions cause changes over time
[13]
,
which helps for evaluating policy measures in the long term where the behavior to
be assessed is a consequence of complex interactions
[14, 10]
.
Land Use and Transport Model. MARS Model
The model used here, called MARS (Metropolitan Activity Relocation Simulator)
model
[15]
, is based on synergetic principles
[16]
. MARS is a strategic, interactive
land-use and transport interaction (LUTI) model.
