Transport sector plays an important role in today economy and society by connecting people, businesses and resources. Efficient and effective transport facilitates the free flow of people, goods and services, and contributes to the productivity in all other sectors in the economy. Over the past 60 years, European Union (EU) transport sector has improved and contributed significantly to EU economy. In Europe, transport sector accounts for about 5% of gross domestic product (GDP) and more than ten million people are directly employed in 1.1 million transport companies (European Commission, EU transport in figures—Statistical pocketbook, 2012). However, transport sector does have fundamental environmental impacts on air, land, water, ecosystem and human health. In EU transport sector is responsible for around a quarter of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, making it the second biggest GHG emitting sectors after energy. In this paper, our objective is twofold. Firstly, our aim is to present an approach to look into the relation between transport sector and the economic system as a whole, based on the quantification of the impact of the “transport sector output” on total output and income. We compare the economic impact of the production of different types of transport industries, observed in the European countries. Secondly, we present an approach that allows to examine and identify the role, or impact of the transport sector responsible for CO2 emissions in the European countries. Our approach shows the contribution of transport sector to CO2 emissions both from demand and supply perspective. The comparative analysis is performed among four European countries which make up the large portion of the European GDP: France, Italy, Germany and United Kingdom (UK).
