Trends and mitigation options of greenhouse gas emissions from the road transport sector in Ecuador

Abstract

This paper reports the current status of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions caused by the transport sector in Ecuador and possible mitigation scenarios to reduce them. In the first case, the emissions were quantified by using the IPCC methodology for National GHG Inventories which is based in the quantification of the oil products consumption (TIER 1). The emission estimations have revealed that nearly 33,400 kton CO 2 -Eq were emitted in 2012. The same year, road transport was identified as the most important sub-sector in terms of CO 2 emissions with a contribution of 90%. Road transport emission is followed by aviation and navigation, both not exceeding 10% of emissions within the transport sub-sector. These pollution trends have grown at a rate of about 6% (referred to ton of CO 2 -Eq.). As consequence, several initiatives and research projects have been undertaken with the aim of finding solutions to the current situation in the transport sector. Secondly, an analysis of GHG emissions trends was performed (according to the business as usual scenario) based on historical GHG emission inventories updated to the year 2012. This analysis was designed using the software Long-range Energy Alternative Planning (LEAP). For this purpose, Governmental strategies including measures related to fuel consumption, use of new technologies, political actions such as scrapping of the vehicle that have completed their life cycle, the introduction of hybrid and electric automobiles were considered. Preliminary results of the analysis indicate that political actions like scrapping vehicles and the use of biofuels are the most promising solutions to reduce rising trends of emissions and energy consumption.

Long-Term Forecast of Energy and Fuels Demand Towards a Sustainable Road Transport Sector in Ecuador (2016–2035): A LEAP Model Application

“…Therefore, there is a need to develop studies and promote initiatives by public institutions in the country related to sustainable mobility, which includes the following: (a) strategic lines of demand towards energy resources development [44]; (b) assessment and energy efficiency opportunities inland transport in Ecuador [45,46]; (c) strategic action lines in the transport sector for climate change mitigation in Ecuador [47,48]; (d) identification of energy efficiency needs in transport [49], and (e) impact evaluation methodology on energy consumption due to electric vehicle integration [50].…”

“…For the design of this scenario, all characteristics of energy efficiency and mitigation, and alternative fuel scenarios have been inherited through a hierarchical structure in the LEAP model. In addition, a new trend group and sustainable mobility projects have been included [8,9,47,70,88,102,103]. Globally, some of these initiatives have already been incorporated, and it is expected that, in the next years, they will be adopted by developing countries [104].…”

Estudio técnico-económico de la gasificación de Ecuador

“…Además, para este escenario han sido incorporadas una serie de nuevas tendencias y proyectos sobre movilidad sostenible (Banister, 2008;CEPAL -OLADE -BID, 2017;Guayanlema et al, 2014;Hu et al, 2010;Kreuzer & Wilmsmeier, 2014 (Corral et al, 2017;Guayanlema, 2016b;Guayanlema et al, 2014)…”