Population Growth And Urban Road Emissions - 1738 Words

POPULATION GROWTH AND URBAN ROAD EMISSIONS Toh Xinyi Cindi1 1Undergraduate Student, Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, McGill University, 817 Sherbrooke St. W., xinyi.toh@mail.mcgill.ca Abstract This paper describes how world population growth is the most challenging factor in affecting urban road emissions. As world population grows, urban population has increased leading to greater demands for private motor vehicles due to issues like urban sprawl and the aspirations for owning a motor vehicle. Although there have been mitigation methods like increasing road infrastructure to ease congestion, the rate of urban population growth and demand for private motor vehicles far exceeds the measures, leading to what is known as†¦show more content†¦Yang et al (2014) points out that mobile sources of emissions, namely transport vehicles like diesel trucks, are â€Å"critical input(s)† for air pollutant emissions. The huge contribution to road emissions in urban areas by the transport sector is of concern because of the several consequences to human health that excessive air pollution can potentially cause. By understanding the factors behind increasing road emissions, countries can better be prepared to take action for climate change adaptation and mitigation (Timilsina Shrestha, 2009). This paper posits that among the many factors affecting road emissions, population increase is the most challenging factor in affecting urban road emissions. Population increase affects urban population growth and consequently the demand of vehicle ownership. In addition, population increase and the related measures in cities to cope with population growth gives rise to a continuous cycle of increased urban emissions. 2. Population Growth World population currently stands at over 7.2 billion in 2014 and is projected to increase to 9.7 billion by year 2050 (Population Reference Bureau (PRB), 2014). Among the entire world population, urban population makes up 54% of total global population in 2014 and continues increasing (World Health Organisation (WHO), 2014). The WHO (2014) also mentions in their Global Health Observatory that by