Transportation and Greenhouse Gas Emissions

The project examined three case studies in Santiago, Chile—bicycle infrastructure, bus technology, and location efficiency—to determine how the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) could promote sustainable transportation. It found that while technological improvements are possible, demand-side measures like land-use planning and comprehensive bicycle networks offer higher emission reductions but face significant methodological and financial barriers under current CDM rules. The document argues for reforming the CDM to allow for sectoral or policy-based approaches to better capture structural changes in urban transport.

• Analysis of bicycle infrastructure suggests that individual bikeways are not viable as CDM projects under current rules and expected certified emission reductions (CER) values, whereas a comprehensive bicycle network may be more feasible due to higher savings and lower monitoring costs using regional data.
• Regarding bus technology in the Transantiago master plan, the project found that while a methodological framework for the CDM is possible, the marginal returns may be too low to attract significant investment, and these improvements offer lower GHG savings than reducing the number of buses or displacing car trips.
• Location efficiency, which involves influencing land patterns to change travel behaviour, represents a significant opportunity for emission reductions and co-benefits, but current CER prices are unlikely to offset overall urban development costs.
• Transportation projects under the CDM face severe methodological challenges regarding additionality, as high project costs, low CER prices, and the low monetary value of co-benefits make establishing additionality difficult.
• The project concludes that the current project-based structure of the CDM is ill-suited for structural changes like fuel economy standards or bus rapid transit, suggesting a need for reform toward sectoral or policy-based activities.
• Participants at an August 2004 international workshop recommended that the CDM Executive Board's Methodological Panel analyze transportation methodologies, including urban land use, and that the UNFCCC host a formal workshop on urban transportation and climate change.

APA

International Institute for Sustainable Development (2004). Transportation and Greenhouse Gas Emissions. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/climate_chile_trans_green.pdf

Chicago

International Institute for Sustainable Development. Transportation and Greenhouse Gas Emissions. 2004. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/climate_chile_trans_green.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=International Institute for Sustainable Development |title=Transportation and Greenhouse Gas Emissions |date=December 2004 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/climate_chile_trans_green.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{internationalinstituteforsustainabledevelopment2004transportation, author = {{International Institute for Sustainable Development}}, title = {{Transportation and Greenhouse Gas Emissions}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2004}, month = dec, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/climate_chile_trans_green.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }