22 July 2010: The World Bank has published a working paper titled “Urban Transport and CO2 emissions: Some evidence from Chinese cities” that seeks to establish a baseline for carbon dioxide transport-related emissions in China.

The paper shows that growth in carbon emissions in transport have so far outpaced the carbon dioxide emission reduction achieved by vehicle efficiency and fuel performance improvements. The study also found that the level of urban transport-related carbon dioxide emissions varies significantly not only among cities of different levels of per capita income, but also among cities of similar income level. This implies that in addition to the motorization level that is generally associated with per capita income, other policy factors such as priority to public transport and restriction on private cars are also significant determinants of carbon dioxide emissions. [The Working Paper]