Growth of traffic emissions in Austria

This paper deals with the growth of traffic emissions in Austria concerning road and total traffic demand, energy consumption, and road traffic emissions for the period 1971 to 2020. A top-down model, based on vehicle miles travelled, is used to calculate energy consumption and emission levels as a function of transport demand and of the relevant exhaust gas limits for the specific vehicle classifications and technology used. A model was developed to facilitate transport demand estimation. Model results aim to reflect both economic development and price policies. The interrelationships of the relevant variables were derived from an analysis of past data in Austria. For those boundary conditions which are particularly difficult to predict, a series of assumptions such as high or low economic growth, rising or falling fuel prices, and various exhaust gas limits for the period after 1997 are tested for their influence on exhaust gas emission levels.