The Social Cost of Transportation in Bergamo Local Economy

      5   INTRODUCTION Urban outdoor air pollution is estimated to cause 1.3 million deaths worldwide per year. (WHO, 2011 1 ) It goes without saying that air pollutant is highly accountable for a spectrum of sickness: respiratory infections, lung cancer and cardiovascular problems. Beside short-medium term effects of air pollutant, transportation strategy is not seen as sustainable in a long-term perspective. According to a report of European Commission (2009), the goals of the EU SDS (as indicated in the progress report of 2007) are not well achieved 2 . The European transport system is still away from a sustainable path, with respect to other sectors. A better integration enhances efficiency and mitigation to the consumption of fossil fuel will be the main target.                                                                                                                 1 (2011) “Air quality and health”, WHO 2 (2009) “A sustainable future for transport”, EuC Figure 1 - GHGemission in the EU-27, by sector (1990 = 100)   1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 70 80 90 100 110 120 130 Transport Energy Industries Households Services, etc. Total Industry Other