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A large part of the world population is exposed to noise levels that are unhealthy. Yet noise is often neglected when impact assessment studies are conducted and when policy interventions are designed. In this study, we provide a way to calculate the noise footprint of citizens directly determined by their use of private and public transport on land. The study combines the results of the large transport simulation model MATSim applied to Switzerland, with a noise characterization model, N‐LCA, developed in the context of life cycle assessment. MATSim results allow tracking the use of private and public transportation by agents in the model. The results after characterization provide a consumption‐based noise footprint, thus the total noise and impacts that are caused by the private mobility demand of the citizens of Switzerland. Our results confirm that road transportation is the largest contributor to the total noise footprint of land‐based mobility. We also included a scenario with a full transition to an electrified car fleet, which showed the potential for the reduction of impacts, particularly in urban areas, by about 55% as compared to the modeled regime with combustion engines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several experts such as Nicole A. Mathys, Rolf Frischknecht, and Brian Cox discusses various paper at the 66th life cycle assessment (LCA) forum, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, in Zurich, Switzerland held on August 30, 2017. Topics discussed include environmental impacts of electric cars and mobility scenarios; planning of road and rail infrastructure programmes, air emission, and others in the nation; and focuses on climate change.