Latest Publications

 

2008 Forum Highlights. Transport and Energy: The Challenge of Climate Change Highlights of the International Transport Forum 2008
Transport and Energy: The Challenge of Climate Change


The transport sector is a significant contributor to Greenhouse Gas Emissions in most countries, representing 23% (worldwide) and 30% (OECD) of CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion in 2005. Automobile transport is the principal CO2 emitter, but other transport modes also impact global warming - sometimes significantly as in case of aviation and maritime transport. Growth in transport sector emissions has typically mirrored growth in economic wealth and has kept pace with or even surpassed growth of emissions from the energy sector. Because of this, it is likely that most countries will have to include the transport sector in achieving future greenhouse gas emissions reductions.

A defining milestone in these discussions, the International Transport Forum 2008 gathered over 800 policy-makers, researchers and industry stakeholders in Leipzig for a cycle of roundtables on cost-effective technology and policy instruments required to improve energy efficiency and curb carbon emissions across transport modes. This publication condenses the main findings of these roundtables and provides access to research work carried out by the Forum in such areas as biofuels, ecodriving, the impact of high energy prices and the effectiveness of fuel efficiency policies.

72 pages; OECD, Paris, November 2008
€24 ;  $32;  £17 ;  ¥3 300
ISBN 978-92-821-0188-9
   
   
Privatisation and Regulation of Urban Transit Systems.  Click to access OECD Online Bookshop Privatisation and Regulation of Urban Transit Systems.  Round Table 141

Urban public transport services generally run at a large deficit. This has led public authorities to seek efficiencies, notably through private sector involvement. Private entry is complicated by the essential network characteristics of public transport, with parts of the network potentially profitable and others perennially unprofitable.

Support for the sector traditionally seeks to provide basic mobility services to all segments of society, including low-income users. Intervention is also required to manage the natural tendency towards concentration and market power in the provision of these transport services. Policy towards urban public transport is increasingly aimed at managing congestion on the roads and mitigating CO2 emissions by substituting for travel by car. The sprawl of cities complicates the regulatory environment as responsibilities tend to be split among different institutional levels.

Achieving coherent transport networks that are efficient and financially sustainable is a challenge for any public authority. This Round Table examines experience in integrating private management and capital with public transport policy objectives in a number of developed economies. For network operators, the Round Table concludes that innovation is the key to surviving the rapidly changing policy and regulatory environment.

152 pages; OECD, Paris, October 2008
€50 ;  $77;  £39 ;  ¥8 000
ISBN 978-92-821-0199-5
   
   
Towards Zero: Ambitious Road Safety Targets and the Safe System Approach.  Click to access Online Bookshop Towards Zero: Ambitious Road Safety Targets and the Safe System Approach

Each year around 1.2 million people are killed and 50 million are injured on roads around the world. But crashes are largely preventable and much can be done to reduce the burden of pain they cause and their economic impact.

Many countries have set targets to reduce the number of casualties on their roads. Are these countries on track to meet their targets? What can be done in the immediate and longer term to achieve these targets? Is there a limit to traditional approaches to road safety?

This report takes stock of recent developments and initiatives to meet increasingly ambitious road safety targets. It highlights the management changes required in many countries to implement effective interventions. It emphasises a strong focus on results and examines the economic case for road safety investment. It challenges the better performing countries to do more and strongly recommends the adoption of a Safe System approach with a long-term vision of no fatalities on the roads.

Summary Document also available in Spanish

242 pages; OECD, Paris, October 2008
€70 ;  $107;  £54 ;  ¥11 200
ISBN 978-92-821-0195-7
   
   
Benefiting from Globalisation. 17th International Symposium Benefiting from Globalisation. Transport Sector Contribution and Policy Challenges
17th International ITF/OECD Symposium on Transport Economics and Policy

Transport is at the heart of globalisation, indeed the term would be meaningless without the ability to move goods and people around the planet. The opportunities for individuals and businesses to benefit from globalisation are increased by efficient, cost-effective transport networks. A competitive, responsive, well-organised transport sector facilitates trade, but creating the conditions for this poses policy challenges that must be tackled if transport is to contribute fully to globalisation.

This was the theme of the 17th ITF/OECD Symposium. The discussions were organised around five sub-themes, drawing on 17 introductory reports covering fields ranging from "data and trends" to issues relating to "transport policy and regional integration".

Over 300 experts participated in the Symposium and contributed to the discussions. This publication includes all of the introductory reports and a summary of these discussions.

450 pages; OECD, Paris, September 2008
€130 ;  $200;  £101 ;  ¥20 800
ISBN 978-92-821-0168-1
   
   
The Wider Economic Benefits of Transport.  Click to access OECD Online Bookshop The Wider Economic Benefits of Transport
Macro-, Meso- and Micro-Economic Transport Planning and Investment Tools

Round Table 140

The standard cost-benefit analysis of transport infrastructure investment projects weighs a project's costs against users' benefits. This approach has been challenged on the grounds that it ignores wider economic impacts of such projects. Since there is empirical evidence that these effects can be substantial, relying on the standard approach potentially produces misleading results.

At the International Transport Forum Round Table, leading academics and practitioners addressed these concerns and examined a range of potential approaches for evaluating wider impacts - negative as well as positive. They concluded that for smaller projects, it is better to focus on timely availability of results, even if this means forgoing sophisticated analysis of wider impacts. For larger projects or investment programs, customized analysis of these effects is more easily justifiable. Creating consistent appraisal procedures is a research priority.

Summary and Conclusions

208 pages; OECD, Paris, July 2008
€75 ;  $116 ;  £54 ;  ¥10.400
ISBN 978-92-821-0160-5
   
   
Trends in the Transport Sector 1970-2006
							Click to access OECD Online Bookshop Trends in the Transport Sector 1970-2006

How have the passenger and freight transport sectors evolved in recent years? And what about road safety? This publication presents the most up-to-date statistics on transport markets in International Transport Forum countries for the period 1970-2006, including charts to highlight the major trends.

Published earlier than comparable studies, this brochure provides the reader with first-hand figures on key transport trends. For the first time, data are provided on air and maritime transport as well as on investment and maintenance expenditures undertaken in the transport sector.

All the data is available free as tables

77 pages; OECD, Paris, June 2008
€24 ;  $37;  £17 ;  ¥3 300
ISBN 978-92-821-1263-2
   
   
Transport Outlook 2008.  Focusing on Co2 Emissions from Road Vehicles. Click to download Transport Outlook 2008: Focusing on CO2 Emissions from Road Vehicles
Discussion Paper 2008-13

This short outlook is designed to test the potential for key policy instruments for mitigating emissions from road transport, and particularly from light duty vehicles, the largest source of CO2 emissions from transport. It also examines uncertainties in the baseline scenario for the development of Co2 emissions from the sector.



Paris, May 2008
Free
   
   
Key Transport Statistics 2007.  Click to download Key Transport Statistics 2007

Published earlier than comparable studies, these statistics provide the most recent figures on selected transport variables in the Forum countries and they throw light on transport activities during 2007.

This leaflet contains 2007 data for national and international rail freight transport, passenger transport by rail, national and international road freight transport, road traffic, brand-new vehicle registrations, road fuel deliveries, road fatalities, national and international freight transport by inland waterways as well as statistics on countries' imports and imports in euros.

Paris, May 2008
Free
   
   
Round Table 139: Oil Dependence: Is Transport Running Out of Affordable Fuel?
							Click to access OECD Online Bookshop Oil Dependence: Is Transport Running Out of Affordable Fuel? Round Table 139

Oil consumption is increasingly concentrated in transport, and relatively limited fluctuations in transport demand can have increasingly significant effects on oil prices. Oil prices rose to all time highs at the beginning of 2008, exceeding $100 a barrel for the first time since the 1979 oil crisis. The underlying driver was demand for oil from rapidly developing economies and especially China, where transport accounts for the largest part of oil consumption.
OPEC market power is increasing as production of conventional oil outside OPEC has reached a plateau. Oil from tar sands in Canada and elsewhere is available in very large quantities, and is competitive at sustained prices above $40 a barrel. But processing such oil doubles CO2 emissions on a well-to-wheels basis compared to using conventional oil to fuel transport.

This Round Table assesses the policy instruments available to address oil security and climate change and examines their interaction with measures to manage congestion and mitigate local air pollution. A number of incompatibilities and trade-offs are identified underlining the importance of integrated policy-making.

This report includes an examination of the factors that drive oil prices in the short and long term and a discussion of the outlook for oil supply.

Summary and Conclusions

210 pages; OECD, Paris, May 2008
€75 ;  $116 ;  £54 ;  ¥10.400
ISBN 978-92-821-0121-6
   
   
Long-Life Surfaces for Busy Roads. 
							Click to access OECD Online Bookshop Long-life Surfaces for Busy Roads

Long-life surfaces could substantially cut the costs of road works, including the delays they cause, especially on congested routes with heavy traffic. These surfaces use new materials that cost more than conventional asphalt and require special handling.

This report presents the results of collaborative research to evaluate the technical and economic potential of the most promising long-life surfaces and assist governments in weighing up the risks and advantages of introducing them on busy roads.

Summary Document

186 pages; OECD, Paris, May 2008
€60.00 ;  $78.00;  £43.00 ;  ¥8 300
ISBN 978-92-821-0158-2
   
   
Round Table 138: Biofuels: Linking Support to Performance. 
							Click to access OECD Online Bookshop Biofuels: Linking Support to Performance. Round Table 138

Biofuels received USD 15 billion in subsidies on OECD Member countries in 2007, but did they deliver benefits in terms of climate change or oil security? Present policies make no link between support for biofuels and their environmental performance, and biofuels do not all perform equally well. In fact, much of the current ethanol and biodiesel production may result in higher overall emissions of greenhouse gases than using conventional transport fuels - gasoline and diesel. The papers published in this report examine the economics of biofuels and assess the potential of conventional biofuel production in OECD countries, Brazilian ethanol exports and some second generation biofuels to supply world markets with transport fuels.

This Round Table analyses the critical issues for governments in determining support for biofuels, particularly the level of greenhouse gas emissions throughout the life-cycle of these fuels and the wider environmental impacts of farming biomass. It also reviews recent progress in developing certification systems for biofuels - an essential tool for tying support to achievement in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, although certification cannot be expected to prevent rainforest destruction for the development of biofuels crop plantations. The report concludes with a short list of recommendations for policy reform if support for biofuels is to contribute effectively to mitigating greenhouse gas emissions.

Summary and Conclusions

224 pages; OECD, Paris, March 2008
€75 ;  $105 ;  £54 ;  ¥10 400
ISBN 978-92-821-0179-7
   
   
Workshop on Ecodriving, Paris, 22-23 November 2007. Click to download  Workshop on Ecodriving. Paris, 22-23 November 2007
Workshop Findings and Messages for Policy Makers

The Workshop on Ecodriving provided a valuable opportunity to review current experience around the world in implementing and promoting ecodriving. The Workshop, organized by the International Transport Forum, the International Energy Agency, the Dutch Ministry of Transport and Water Management and the ECODRIVEN platform, brought together around 100 ecodriving experts, policy makers, researchers and stakeholders to discuss recent developments in the field from Europe, the United States, Canada, Japan, and South America. It reviewed some of the successful practice in integrating ecodriving into national policies.

The two day meeting explored national strategies, policies to promote ecodriving in different modes, communication campaigns and partnership programs as well as issues of measuring, monitoring and evaluating ecodriving initiatives. Workshop presentations and conclusions are available at the IEA and the International Transport Forum websites.

6 pages; March 2008
Free
   
   
Transport Infrastructure Investment. Options for Efficiency.  
							Click to access OECD Online Bookshop  Transport Infrastructure Investment. Options for Efficiency

Surface transport plays a fundamental role in nearly all social and economic activity. Providing and maintaining the infrastructure consumes enormous resources. Thus, it is essential that this be carried out in the most efficient and effective way possible.

Many options are available to provide surface transport infrastructure - public ministries and agencies, public-private partnerships (PPPs), state-owned companies, private and non-profit entities, and outright privatisation. There are also various means of paying for it, including user charging, subsidies, public borrowing or private financing.

This report examines key principles that should be considered by governments in deciding how to provide and pay for surface transport infrastructure, with a view to best serving societies' needs and employing public resources. It also considers the key issues that must be resolved in making more use of private financing and expertise.

Summary Document

236 pages; OECD, Paris, February 2008
€75 ;  $97 ;  £54 ;  ¥10 400
ISBN 978-92-821-0155-1