Sustainable Transportation

Reducing emissions from transportation is critical to the success of tackling the broader global greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change. Transportation is responsible for 14% of global greenhouse gas emissions, including 27% and increasing for the European Union and 28% for the United States, not including emissions from petroleum production. This chapter provides an overview of the law and policies that most directly affect greenhouse gas emissions from transportation, as well as the range of technologies available to do so. Specifically, it covers the various sources of transportation emissions, from per capita driving kilometers to burning fossil fuels used in a variety of transportation activities. It provides an overview of law and policy approaches that reduce driving kilometers and improve overall transportation efficiency, such as land use changes and transit investments. The chapter then summarizes the key clean fuel technologies that can reduce transportation emissions, including low-carbon biofuels, hydrogen, and battery electric vehicles, and offers examples of law and policies around the world that have proven to help expedite the deployment of these low- and zero-emission fuels. These mechanisms include mandates and incentives for clean transportation and subsidies and support for private sector action.