Globalisation, Transport and the Environment
What impact has globalisation had on transport? And what have been the consequences for the environment? This book aims to answer these questions and more. It looks in detail at how globalisation has affected activity levels in maritime shipping, aviation, and road and rail freight, and assesses the impact that changes in activity levels have had on the environment. The book also discusses policy instruments that can be used to address negative environmental impacts, both from an economic perspective and from the point of view of international law.
Related reading
Environmental Outlook to 2030 (2008)
The Economics of Climate Change Mitigation: Policies and Options for Global Action beyond 2012 (2009)
Also available in: French
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Globalisation's Direct and Indirect Effects on the Environment
This chapter explores research into the relationship between globalisation and the environment, looking at patterns and rates of growth in international trade and foreign direct investment. It provides a summary of knowledge of globalisation’s indirect effects, focusing largely on current estimates of the size of the scale, composition and technique effects of globalisation. The chapter concludes with a brief discussion of the various direct effects of globalisation, notably transport-related emissions and biological invasions, and attempts to put these into the broader context of overall effects. The chapter concludes that, although recent evidence concerning trade and local pollution is encouraging, the evidence concerning carbon and other greenhouse gas emissions is less so. One explanation for the pessimistic assessments of trade’s impact on greenhouse gas emissions is their global nature. Not only are the costs of CO2 emissions shared with citizens abroad (who have no political voice outside their own country), but many greenhouse emissions are associated with fossil fuel use, for which few economically viable substitutes have emerged to date. The income and technique effects that are largely responsible for reductions in local air pollutants do not seem to have the same force when the pollutant in question burdens the global population.
Also available in: French
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