Assessing greenhouse gas emissions arising from intermodal freight transport chains using the ISO14083 standard

The main driver of the anthropogenic climate change is the increase in the amount of greenhouse gases (GHG). In 2019, the total net anthropogenic GHG emissions were 59 GtCO2e, about 54% higher than in 1990. In the same year, global transport was the fourth largest source of net anthropogenic GHG - direct and indirect - emissions (15%). According to the IPCC, in 2019, road transport (both passengers and freight) was the largest source of transport emissions (6.1 GtCO2e; 69% of the transport sector). Hence, emissions from road freight transport should be reduced to achieve climate targets. For these reasons, GHG mitigation has become central in policies aimed at reducing polluting gas emissions in the global freight transport sector. This paper will focus on the main methods used for the evaluation of environmental sustainability of intermodal transport chains, with a particular focus on the ISO14083 standard. Prior the release of the ISO 14083, no international carbon accounting standard was available. Nevertheless, there are many methods, national standards and norms that quantified the GHG emissions caused by logistics operations. One of the most complete methods is the GLEC Framework, that aims at standardizing the calculation of GHG emission related to freight transport. This work presents an application of the ISO 14083 standard and the GLEC Framework to a real case study. The aim of the study is to analyse the publication of ISO 14083 standard and the subsequent update of the GLEC Framework. The objective is to highlight potential weaknesses and compare the results with the methods currently in use for calculating greenhouse gas emissions (see the IMO method and its performance indicators). With this contribution, the authors hope to highlight the main critical issues that arise from the use of the proposed methodology.