Blockchain Solution for Road Traffic Pollution Monitoring and Regulation

Global warming and greenhouse gas emissions have increased significantly in the last decades and these issues have been approached through policies and regulations with various levels of success. These regulations and policies were aimed mostly towards the industrial sector, but nowadays the private individual emissions footprint can no longer be neglected. Vehicular traffic, especially in busy cities, contributes greatly to an individual’s emissions footprint. In this paper, we propose a solution for road vehicles pollution monitoring and regulation using blockchain technology. The proposed solution will be able to create a dynamic, localized and trustworthy dataset for road traffic emissions which can help develop alternative routes or transport means, design emissions policies adapted for local scenarios and even use as dataset for artificial intelligence applications.

I. Introduction

In large urban areas, traffic significantly contributes to pollution and air quality degradation. In the United States, road traffic is estimated to account for approximately 29% of greenhouse gas emissions [1]. Unlike traditional industries, road traffic is dynamic, making it challenging to accurately track its emissions. Many cities have implemented air quality monitoring stations at fixed locations, enabling localized measurements. Although these stations provide information for various parts of cities, they capture emissions from all pollutant sources in the area, not solely from road traffic. Additionally, since these stations may be installed and operated by different entities, obtaining a comprehensive data set with sufficient coverage and ensuring consistent monitoring of the same parameters across different areas can be difficult.