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In Europe the transport sector accounts for more than 27% of total CO 2 emissions and, within this sector, road transport is by far the largest polluter. This fact has placed road transport emissions abatement firmly on the agenda of global alliances. In this paper, we examine the convergence in per capita road transport CO 2 emissions in a sample of 22 European Union (EU) countries over the 1990-2014 period. We find evidence that EU countries converge to one another but depending on certain structural factors (conditional convergence), and that the convergence speed has increased over time. In light of this evidence, we estimate a conditional convergence dynamic panel data model to examine the structural factors affecting the convergence process and its influence on the convergence speed. Because, in our sample, road transport CO 2 emissions depend almost exclusively on (fossil) fuel consumption, we focus on the determinants channelled through the use of energy in the sector. By using alternative econometric approaches (pooled-OLS, fixed-effects and instrumental variables), our results show that the convergence process is conditioned by factors such as economic activity and fuel prices and that some of these factors have a significant effect on the convergence speed. These results may entail policy implications with regards to the geographical impact of the EU policies on climate change currently in place.

Few studies have examined visitor preferences with regard to public bike-sharing inside national parks. Here, we present a case study of the Teide National Park (TNP), the most visited national park in Spain. The TNP is a clear example of a natural site suffering the effects of mass tourism, largely due to the fact that 70% of visitors access the TNP by car. This puts the park’s sustainability under considerable pressure, may well affect visitor enjoyment, and highlights the need to implement alternative transportation systems. The main aim of this paper is to assess the attitudes of visitors to the TNP towards the implementation of a public bike-sharing system. To do so, we combine information on revealed and stated preferences and estimate ordered logit models to establish the determinants of the propensity to choose the bicycle to move around the park. Our findings suggest that the bicycle has potential as a means of transport in this setting. The results have implications for the design of mobility management measures aiming to increase visit quality and reduce the negative externalities associated with mobility patterns in national parks.

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