 Enhancing freight transport connectivity through analytical frameworks | This working paper by Dr. Ruth Banomyong explores the essential role of regional freight transport connectivity in enhancing economic growth, improving productivity, and furthering supply chain efficiency. It provides a methodological framework focused on identifying and addressing freight transport connectivity gaps using both infrastructure development (or “hard” policy measures) and regulatory harmonisation (or “soft” policy measures). The methodological framework is then applied to offer recommendations for strengthening regional connectivity in Central Asia and Southeast Asia. |
| Enhancing freight transport decarbonisation through analytical frameworks | This working paper by Dr. Alan McKinnon is intended to help policy makers monitor trends in freight transport decarbonisation and conceptualise strategies for furthering decarbonisation efforts. It does this by scoping the subject, outlining several analytical frameworks and identifying a range of metrics that quantify the scale of the carbon-reduction challenge and the main ways of addressing it. An iterative 10-stage framework outlines how governments can systematically devise and deploy a freight transport decarbonisation strategy. The latter part of the paper broadens the perspective by including the measurement and reduction of infrastructure-related emissions. The paper concludes with a discussion on the extent to which countries in Central and Southeast Asia can follow a lower-carbon path of logistics development than that pursued by high-income countries over the past 50 to 60 years. |
| Enhancing freight transport resilience through analytical frameworks | Freight transport is responsible for 56% of energy-related CO2 emissions from domestic transport in Asian countries. It will likely account for most of the rise in transport-related emissions in these countries over the next 25 years. This is not reflected in the attention it receives in national and regional decarbonisation strategies, as they are typically dominated by personal movement. The resulting policy bias is partly attributable to a lack of understanding of longer-term logistics trends and how well-targeted policy initiatives can mitigate their carbon impacts. This paper aims to help public policy makers monitor these trends and conceptualise the related decarbonisation options. It does this by scoping the subject, outlining several analytical frameworks and identifying a range of metrics that quantify the scale of the carbon-reduction challenge and the main ways of addressing it. |
| Evaluating the relationships between connectivity, decarbonisation and resilience in freight transport | The first three papers in this series discuss connectivity, decarbonisation, and resilience separately. This summary working paper by Dr. Alan McKinnon examines the inter-relationships between them, assessing the extent to which they are mutually reinforcing or counteracting, and proposes quantitative metrics to measure and evaluate them. It does this within an assessment framework that maps interconnections between the connectivity, decarbonisation and resilience of freight transport systems. |