Modelling transition policies to a low-carbon road transport in Latvia by 2030. Summary of the doctoral thesis
2016
Barisa, A., Riga Technical Univ. (Latvia). Faculty of Power and Electrical Engineering. Inst. of Energy Systems and Environment
The overall objective of the present doctoral thesis is to perform an integrated analysis of low-carbon transition policies in the road transport sector in Latvia by 2030. At an international level, the main driver of low-carbon transport is the commitment to reduce climate change; however, in the context of national and local transport policy, the aspect of climate is often left in second place, or is not taken into account at all. The following three research questions are raised: 1) To what extent can national transport policy contribute to a reduction in transport carbon dioxide emissions in the long-term, as stipulated by international commitments? 2) What is the potential of local governments to support transition to a low-carbon transport system? 3) What is the interaction between transport policy planning at national level and the biodiesel market in the country, taking into account that biofuels are considered to be the major mid-term solution for greenhouse gas emission reduction in the transport sector? The research methodology is based on four interconnected parts according to the proposed multi-level approach for modelling transition policies to a low-carbon transport system. The proposed methodology is approbated to the case study of Latvia and used for transport policy design at three different levels: national level, local level, and sectoral level.An integrated multi-level approach has been developed and applied to research the transition potential to a low-carbon road transport sector by 2030. It includes: creation and approbation of a new mathematical energy-economy model based on system dynamics theory for national-level carbon emission mitigation policy design in the transport sector; creation and approbation of a new mathematical computer simulation model based on a system dynamics modelling approach for policy analysis in the biodiesel sector; and development and approbation of a combined approach of energy and material and cash–flow analysis for the waste-to-biomethane concept introduction in local transport systems.
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