Analysis of the possibility of reducing external costs of transport within land-sea transport chains on the example of Zachodniopomorskie voivodeship, Poland

Land-sea transport chains constitute a key part of the Europe’s economy, as a significant part of its trade is carried out using sea transport. Transport, storage, or delivery processes carried out within these chains are characterized by specified economic and technical efficiency, which often does not take into consideration the external costs these processes generate. Therefore, there is a need for further changes in the European land-sea transport chains, the aim of which should be a further reduction of the negative influence of transport on the society and the environment, in accordance with the assumptions adopted under the EU's sustainable development policy. The article examines the land-sea freight transport chains in terms of the EU's sustainable development goals on the example of Zachodniopomorskie Voivodeship (ZV), Poland. The region was selected owing to two key factors. First, the transport chains across the region are typical for many European areas. Second, the region itself has experienced intensive development of the Transport, Shipping and Logistics (TSL) sector and a numer of changes in freight flows for several years. The main goal of the article was to identify the possibility of reducing external costs resulting from the use of combined transport solutions in ZV. Two case studies were analyzed for this purpose. In both of them, the assumed effect was the reduction of external costs of freight transport in ZV. The potential reduction of external costs generated by cargo transport in ZV was estimated on the basis of the European methodology in terms of the amount of external costs generated by individual modes and means of transport. The research showed that the implementation of combined transport in ZV can bring measurable benefits to the region. The analyses also allowed for the identification of technical and organizational activities that are crucial for ZV and make it possible to reduce negative transport effects.