15/07/2012

Over the last decade, emissions trading schemes have been introduced almost everywhere in the world. Globally applicable and accepted standards for the calculation of emissions, namely for CO2 emissions, are still missing though. The urgent need to close this gap is reflected in the interviews of expert and in the online survey held as part of the Amitran project: it addressed representatives from various stakeholder groups in the field of Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) (public authorities, ITS manufacturers and developers, vehicle manufacturing, ITS service and data providers, ITS end users, etc.) asking them for their needs towards a CO2 assessment methodology for ICT in transport. One of the central results of these enquiries is that all of the stakeholders emphasised the importance of the establishment of a standardised and recognised methodology for the assessment of CO2 emissions of ITS.

The interviews and questionnaires also reflect the different requirements of the diverse stakeholder groups towards such a standardised methodology. All transport modes and geographical scales (local, regional, national, and European scale) play an important role in CO2 assessment. Experts agree, though, that cooperative and intermodal systems will have an increasing importance in the future.

The importance of a standardised and internationally recognised emission calculation approach leads to the requirement of full transparency and flexibility in terms of systems and context. Whilst it puts the bar high for the Amitran project, it also reveals the importance of the project as it emphasises Amitran’s unique opportunity for its contribution to an improved transport system.

The detailed results of the user needs assessment are documented in Deliverable 2.1 available in the Achievements section. Requirements on Amitran have been deduced from the user needs and are the basis for the further development of the methodology.