Cabotage and CO2 reduction (English summary)
The liberalisation of cabotage - the transportation of goods or persons within a country – can lead to a CO2 reduction from 0 to a maximum of 1.6%. We assume that, for the EU, the percentage of cabotage in inland transport will increase from the current level of 1.2% to a maximum of 4.8%.
This report is available in Dutch.
These findings stem from an initial study that the KiM Netherlands Institute for Transport Policy Analysis conducted on behalf of the Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management, in which the question at issue was whether the liberalisation of cabotage would lead to reduction in empty vehicle kilometres (trucks carrying no loads) and thus a reduction in CO2 emissions in road haulage.
Lower road transport tariffs can lead to a shift from relatively cleaner transport modes, such as rail and inland waterway shipping, to road transport. The extent of such a modal shift and the (expected negative) effect on CO2 reduction have not been yet been calculated.