Strategic Environmental Indicators for Transport and their Evaluation - Qualitative Decision Aiding for SEA

Abstract

This paper explores to what extent the ordinal multi-criteria decision aid method ELECTRE III can help in strategic assessments of transport’s environmental performance. The method is particularly well suited when data are poor, when heterogeneous input has to be treated, and where strongly different value judgements occur. The qualitative assessment logic appropriately reveals and facilitates compromise on the important issue, but also clearly identifies its limits. Thus the relevant issues for a subsequent quantitative analysis can well be selected. We propose to consider this approach for a first ranking of environmental issues or planning alternatives to identify issues and options that merit detailed investigations.