As the role of water transport evolved, not only did the modal
shares change but there were also noticeable implications for the
environment. The paper by Tian et al. (this issue) provides a broad
overview of both the energy consumption (backward linkage) and
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (forward linkage) by the freight
transport sector in China. Apart from describing the overall
national picture, the paper recognizes the relevance of regional differences
in the ways forward. In other words, geographical contexts
are important in understanding sustainability challenges in
China. Moreover, the expansion of highways, as a major source of
increasing energy consumption and GHG emissions of freight
transport in China, was noteworthy.