The Role of Transportation in Greenhouse Gas Emission and Mitigation Strategies for Reducing Emission from Transportation

Abstract

Passengers and high value goods can be transported by economies of scale, mainly those achieved by maritime transportation are linked to low levels of energy consumption per unit of mass being transported, but at a low speed. Comparatively, air freight has high energy consumption levels, linked to high-speed services. Almost all transportation modes depend on the internal combustion engine, for the majority of internal combustion engines, gasoline (C8H18; four strokes engines) serves as fuel, but other sources like methane (CH4; gas turbines), diesel (mostly trucks) and kerosene (turbofans of jet planes) are used. These technologies of transportation system generally have been linked to greenhouse gas emission because they rely heavily on the combustion of hydrocarbons from vehicle engine. This chapter therefore examines the concept of greenhouse, the various ways transportation has influenced the greenhouse gas emission, strategies for minimizing emission from transportation.