Environmental Management from the Point of View of the Energy Intensity of Road Freight Transport and Shocks

Abstract

The research aimed to identify the directions of rationalization of the energy intensity of road freight transport in the context of the long-term balance of the drifting economy. The study was related to the case of Poland, and its scope spans 8.5 years. The long-term drift of the economy and shocks from the production process of the construction, industry, and processing sectors were taken into account in the research. In addition, the structural shocks were decomposed and validated. Twenty-one statistically significant multidirectional and varying relationships between the energy consumption of road transport and production in the construction, industry, and processing sectors were confirmed, including 7 long-term and 14 immediate relationships. The leakage of shocks in production has been demonstrated in the construction, industry, and processing sectors. The shock from the construction sector lowered the energy consumption of road transport in the long run. The greatest impact of the shock occurred only after 6–12 months and slowly stabilized after approximately 24 months. On the other hand, the shock in production in the industry and processing sectors reduced energy intensity in the short term but increased in the long term. The shocks in the industry and processing sectors transformed relatively quickly.

Development of New Mathematical Methods and Software Applications for More Efficient and Sustainable Road Freight Transportation

“…Another key objective of the EU is to reduce the share (78%) of road freight transport in the global transport sector and increase the utilization of the free capacity of rail-and waterways. This will lead to the more efficient use of energy and raw materials globally [14,15].…”

Convergence of Energy Intensity of the Export of Goods by Rail Transport: Linkages with the Spatial Integration and Economic Condition of Countries

“…Numerous studies have addressed sustainable development and ways to reduce energy use in transport [16,[30][31][32][33]. This subject is given considerable attention in an era of increasing shocks, including crises and disturbances, particularly those connected to the scarcity of energy resources [34][35][36][37]. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a wake-up call for the world to adopt a sustainable perspective [27,[38][39][40].…”

“…In the last years (2020-2022) of the COVID-19 pandemic, economies experienced a decrease in freight volumes (2019-2020), followed by a rebound (from 2021) [57][58][59][60]. COVID-19 has significantly affected the entire transport system [36,61,62]. However, this required calibrating the adjustment mechanism to the demand and supply patterns caused by disruptions in global supply chains [57,63,64].…”

The Role of EU Transport Market Liberalization in Shaping Directions of Rail Energy Consumption Rationalization in Relation to the Export of Goods: The Case of Poland

“…The increase in competition was beneficial, but the lack of appropriate regulations could limit the full use of the potential of the railway market [169][170][171];  Political-EU transport policy, shifting transport from roads to railways, was aimed at reducing pollutant emissions and congestion. In Poland, increased competition in the railway sector increased the share of railways in the transport of goods, which had multidimensional effects on other sectors [25],  Prices-the increase in emission prices under the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) affected the energy sector in Poland [172], which translated into an increase in the operating costs of rail transport,  Supply influences the energy consumption of transport in the long term by transferring production shocks in the industrial, processing, and construction sectors [173],  Social and sanitary-mainly related to the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused disruption of supply chains and declines in the transport of goods, the financial condition of the railway sector [166].…”