RoadCO2: A web-based tool for estimation of greenhouse gas emissions of road projects

A number of countries have recognized the need to quantify the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions produced by road transportation. As a result, several estimation tools have been developed during the last decade. However, the available tools do not capture all activities contributing to GHG emissions during the life cycle of road projects. This paper describes the development of a comprehensive web-based tool that can be used to quantify direct and embodied emissions from all activities associated with different phases of road projects. The tool, called RoadCO
2
, accounts for all possible activities that may be encountered during the pre-construction, construction, operation, maintenance, and rehabilitation phases of a road project. Although RoadCO
2
currently uses emission factors established by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the tool has the flexibility to accommodate country-specific emission factors, if available.