Reducing the road freight emissions through integrated strategy in the port cities

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Urban Planning
• Transportation Engineering

Background:

• Port cities are vital to global supply chains but face significant challenges from traffic emissions and climate change vulnerability.
• Pollution density in urban areas exacerbates environmental and health risks.
• Greener road freight strategies are urgently needed to mitigate increasing emissions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the combined impact of road network development and fleet electrification on heavy-duty truck emissions in a major port city.
• To provide data-driven insights for policy interventions aimed at reducing road freight emissions.
• To project emission changes from 2016 to 2035 under different mitigation scenarios.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a high-resolution emission inventory based on 1.2 billion global positioning system trajectories of heavy-duty trucks.
• Analyzed the effects of road network expansion and fleet electrification on emissions.
• Developed spatial projections to illustrate shifting emission distributions.

Main Results:

• An integrated strategy of road network development and fleet electrification reduced peak carbon dioxide emissions by 34% and nitrogen oxide emissions by 43% compared to electrification alone.
• Fleet electrification, even with net-zero grids, is insufficient without addressing congestion and improving connectivity.
• Regional road network expansion influences the spatial distribution of emissions.

Conclusions:

• A holistic approach combining infrastructure development and technological adoption is essential for effective emission reduction in urban road freight.
• Policy interventions must consider both vehicle technology and urban infrastructure to achieve substantial environmental benefits.
• Targeted policymaking can be informed by spatial emission projections linked to network development.