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Environmental Factors and Intermodal Freight Transportation: Analysis of the Decision Bases in the Case of Spanish Motorways of the Sea

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  • Miguel Ángel López-Navarro

    (Universitat Jaume I, Department of Business Administration and Marketing, Av. Vicent Sos Baynat, Castelló de la Plana 12071, Spain)

Abstract

Today, there is widespread consensus about the notable, yet simultaneously growing, negative environmental impacts generated by the transportation sector. Experts working in a number of different fields consider the current situation to be unsustainable and possible measures to reduce emissions and foster sustainability are being encouraged. The European Commission has highlighted the need to shift away from unimodal road transport toward a greater use of intermodal transport through, for example, motorways of the sea, in light of the evidence that the former makes a significant contribution to increased CO 2 emissions. However, although there is a general perception that sea transport is environmentally preferable to road transport, recent studies are beginning to question this assumption. Moreover, little research has been conducted to quantify environmental aspects and incorporate them into the decision-making processes involved in the modal shift. This study first reviews the existing literature to examine the extent to which environmental aspects are relevant in the modal choice in the case of short sea shipping and motorways of the sea. Related to this, the study also evaluates the role that different agents may play in making decisions about choice of mode, taking into consideration environmental aspects. Secondly, we use the values the European Commission provides to calculate external costs for the Marco Polo freight transport project proposals (call 2013) to estimate the environmental costs for several routes (a total of 72), comparing the use of road haulage with the intermodal option that incorporates the Spanish motorways of the sea. The results of this comparative analysis show that the intermodal option is not always the best choice in environmental terms. Consequently, the traditional environmental argument to justify this alternative must be used carefully.

Suggested Citation

  • Miguel Ángel López-Navarro, 2014. "Environmental Factors and Intermodal Freight Transportation: Analysis of the Decision Bases in the Case of Spanish Motorways of the Sea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 6(3), pages 1-23, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:6:y:2014:i:3:p:1544-1566:d:34234
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Morales-Fusco, Pau & Grau, Marc & Saurí, Sergi, 2018. "Effects of RoPax shipping line strategies on freight price and transporter’s choice. Policy implications for promoting MoS," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 67-76.
    3. Anastasia Christodoulou & Kevin Cullinane, 2021. "Potential for, and drivers of, private voluntary initiatives for the decarbonisation of short sea shipping: evidence from a Swedish ferry line," Maritime Economics & Logistics, Palgrave Macmillan;International Association of Maritime Economists (IAME), vol. 23(4), pages 632-654, December.
    4. Izabela Kotowska & Marta Mańkowska & Michał Pluciński, 2018. "Inland Shipping to Serve the Hinterland: The Challenge for Seaport Authorities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-17, September.
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    8. Tareq Abu Aisha & Mustapha Ouhimmou & Marc Paquet, 2020. "Optimization of Container Terminal Layouts in the Seaport—Case of Port of Montreal," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-20, February.
    9. Carlos Llano & Santiago Pérez-Balsalobre & Julian Pérez-García, 2018. "Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Intra-National Freight Transport: Measurement and Scenarios for Greater Sustainability in Spain," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-33, July.
    10. Abisai Konstantinus & Mark Zuidgeest & Anastasia Christodoulou & Zeeshan Raza & Johan Woxenius, 2019. "Barriers and Enablers for Short Sea Shipping in the Southern African Development Community," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-16, March.
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    12. Bouchery, Yann & Woxenius, Johan & Fransoo, Jan C., 2020. "Identifying the market areas of port-centric logistics and hinterland intermodal transportation," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 285(2), pages 599-611.
    13. Anastasia Christodoulou & Kevin Cullinane, 0. "Potential for, and drivers of, private voluntary initiatives for the decarbonisation of short sea shipping: evidence from a Swedish ferry line," Maritime Economics & Logistics, Palgrave Macmillan;International Association of Maritime Economists (IAME), vol. 0, pages 1-23.
    14. Anastasia Christodoulou & Zeeshan Raza & Johan Woxenius, 2019. "The Integration of RoRo Shipping in Sustainable Intermodal Transport Chains: The Case of a North European RoRo Service," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-17, April.
    15. Dražen Žgaljić & Edvard Tijan & Alen Jugović & Tanja Poletan Jugović, 2019. "Implementation of Sustainable Motorways of the Sea Services Multi-Criteria Analysis of a Croatian Port System," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(23), pages 1-21, December.
    16. Gang Du & Chuanwang Sun & Jinxian Weng, 2016. "Liner Shipping Fleet Deployment with Sustainable Collaborative Transportation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(2), pages 1-15, February.
    17. Michalis P. Michaelides & Herodotos Herodotou & Mikael Lind & Richard T. Watson, 2019. "Port-2-Port Communication Enhancing Short Sea Shipping Performance: The Case Study of Cyprus and the Eastern Mediterranean," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-22, March.
    18. Elifcan Göçmen & Rızvan Erol, 2018. "The Problem of Sustainable Intermodal Transportation: A Case Study of an International Logistics Company, Turkey," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-16, November.
    19. Jiawei Ge & Wenming Shi & Xuefeng Wang, 2020. "Policy Agenda for Sustainable Intermodal Transport in China: An Application of the Multiple Streams Framework," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-14, May.
    20. Anastasia Christodoulou & Johan Woxenius, 2019. "Sustainable Short Sea Shipping," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-6, May.
    21. Antonio Comi & Antonio Polimeni, 2020. "Assessing the Potential of Short Sea Shipping and the Benefits in Terms of External Costs: Application to the Mediterranean Basin," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(13), pages 1-17, July.
    22. Marino LUPI & Alessandro FARINA & Antonio PRATELLI & Letizia BELLUCCI, 2017. "An Analysis Of The Italian Ro-Ro And Ro-Pax Network In The Years 2008-2015," Transport Problems, Silesian University of Technology, Faculty of Transport, vol. 12(SE), pages 127-140, December.
    23. Verena Maria Stockhammer & Sarah Pfoser & Karin Markvica & Jürgen Zajicek & Matthias Prandtstetter, 2021. "Behavioural Biases Distorting the Demand for Environmentally Friendly Freight Transport Modes: An Overview and Potential Measures," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-34, October.

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