Eco-efficiency of the transportation process in the context of reducing greenhouse gas emissions – case study

Global warming is one of the most discussed issues in the context of climate change and refers to the steady increase in the Earth's average air temperature. The main cause of the changes affecting the environment is human activity. The most important task is to reduce atmospheric emissions of greenhouse gases, and one of the most important elements is to change the direction of energy policy – moving away from traditional fossil fuels to zero-carbon energy sources, and according to the author of the publication, systemic changes in the transportation process are also necessary. The article proposes a mathematical model of the eco-efficiency of the transportation process in terms of reducing CO₂ emissions into the environment. A detailed analysis of delivery costs was carried out, which in turn led to measurable results of the model in the form of optimal parameters of the studied process (frequency of deliveries and economic size of deliveries) with minimal costs. Existing studies in the field of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from road transport often ignore input data, which is incompatible with a systemic approach. The solutions used in this study integrate both input and output parameters, taking into account economic and environmental aspects, and reflecting diverse global policy practices. The model represents a kind of reengineering of the transportation process and is flexible enough to be applied to most modes of transportation, mainly those that generate the highest CO₂ emissions (road transport).

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