Transport, economy and air pollution in the 21st century

Publisher Summary Air pollution due to transport is a technology-induced problem. It is reasonable to expect that technological innovation will be the first appropriate means to deal with the problem. The role of governments in the innovation process is changing. The assumption that society can be constructed, planned, manipulated, and changed to demand appears to be false. The new roles and approaches of the government require different skills and different structures in decision making. In The Netherlands, a project has been set up to develop option for a technology policy for transport. The project Innovation Inland Transport Technology (INIT) identified about 15 innovation concepts that, according to expert views, will contribute to the policy objectives regarding accessibility and environment and are feasible on a relative short term. For each innovation concept, a preliminary survey has been done with focusing on picture, problems, and promises. The stakeholders have been listed and analyzed; the national and international initiatives, which have a relation with the concept, are enumerated. The strategy and necessary policy actions have been defined depending on the maturity of the technologies, the stakeholders, and the existing research and development programs. The chapter also describes the ways in which the innovations that are seen as promising and feasible can be implemented in co-makership between private and public stakeholders.