Equity Aspects of Measures to Attenuate Transport Environmental Externalities: Who is Left Behind?

Transport is a major contributor to GHG emissions, as well as local environmental externalities such a noise, NOx, particulates, water pollution and flooding. Multiple measures have been advanced to mitigate or attenuate these negative externalities. Yet, such measures have equity implications. In this presentation the equity implications will be identified and discussed. The measures whose equity implications will be discussed include those that are geared to attenuate the externalities at the source, such as the introduction of electric vehicles, and those that are intended to improve the well-being of residents by excluding polluting vehicles, such as the 15-minute city and low emission zones. But the equity implications are not limited to the identification of those adversely affected by these measures. Rather, the presentation will discuss also the procedural and dynamic facets of transport mitigation measures, looking at the extent to which these are discussed in policy documents and the implications of power for the incorporation of environmental equity implications.