Shared Transportation has the largest emissions reduction potential

“Our mapping of sharing economy initiatives in the Nordic countries shows that there are several initiatives that could lead to environmental improvements. Most initiatives are related to the transport sector, and this is the sector where the direct potential for emissions reductions is largest. There is a potential for CO2-equivalent (CO2e) emissions reductions from reduced driving of private cars and reduced car production, and reduced impacts on local air pollution, noise, traffic congestion etc. since most of these initiatives are located in cities where local environmental problems from transport are largest.

We have analyzed the potential for emissions reductions from sharing alternatives that offer services with lower prices and/or better qualities compared to owning and driving one’s own car, but there are several other transport sharing initiatives that could yield similar reductions. Transportation/car hailing initiatives could yield similar benefits if people drive their own car less and/or don’t own a car any more. International studies show that households on average tend to reduce their vehicle holdings after becoming car-sharing members, indicating that one shared car could replace approximately 4 to 13 personal cars. Accounting for potential increases in new car sales to car-sharing fleets and more heavy utilization of shared cars, CO2e-emissions could be reduced by roughly 40 to 140 kg per member household per year from reduced production and maintenance etc. of cars. 

Households that substitute their personal car with a shared car generally drive less, because shared cars are relatively less accessible and the per-trip costs become more apparent compared to personal vehicles, although the total “car-costs” might be reduced. But some households that join car sharing drive more than before, since trips previously untraveled or traveled by other modes of transport, such as public transport, bicycling or walking, are substituted by trips in shared cars. The average net impact is a decrease in kilometers travelled, ranging between 90 kg and 840 kg CO2e-emissions per households per year according to the studies we have reviewed. 

Thus, the overall emissions reductions could be between some 130 kg to around 1,000 kg CO2e-emissions per household per year according to these estimates. These numbers are of course highly uncertain, and since the highest of the estimates are from the US they may not accurately represent Nordic conditions when it comes to driving distances and emissions per distance. Thus, Nordic emission reductions are likely somewhat closer to the lower part of the interval than to the higher part. 

Reduced car transport could also reduce the demand for parking infrastructure. In addition, greater fuel efficiency because of newer cars and perhaps more use of electric and hybrid cars in car-sharing platforms compared to private cars could further reduce Environmental impacts and potential of the sharing economy emissions. “

Quote from Environment and Economy under the Nordic Council of Ministers

Source: Nordic Council of Ministers, Nordic co-operation is one of the world’s most extensive forms of regional collaboration, involving Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Åland.