Road transport and CO2 emissions: What are the challenges?

Abstract In order for the world to stay within the safety threshold of a 2°C increase in average temperature agreed by virtually all governments, the transport sector needs to be decarbonized. The two main obstacles that have prevented this from happening have been the absence of a global legally binding deal and the high relative cost of clean vehicle/energy technologies. The Paris Agreement, which commits countries to reductions of GHG emissions, has virtually solved the first problem and paved the way for countries to implement environmental taxes and subsidies in order to change the relative costs of clean alternatives, which would solve the second problem. These policy actions combined with investment in clean infrastructure and regulation can decarbonize the transport sector.

[1]  Georgina Santos,et al.  Road fuel taxes in Europe: Do they internalize road transport externalities? , 2017 .

[2]  J. Rogelj,et al.  Paris Agreement climate proposals need a boost to keep warming well below 2 °C , 2016, Nature.

[3]  Antoine Dechezleprêtre,et al.  Knowledge Spillovers from Clean and Dirty Technologies , 2014 .

[4]  Changzheng Liu,et al.  Analyzing the transition to electric drive vehicles in the U.S. , 2014 .

[5]  Jian Liu,et al.  Decarbonizing the Road Transport Sector: Break-even Point and Consequent Potential Consumers' Behavior for the U.S. Case , 2015 .

[6]  Alexander Teytelboym,et al.  Part I: Externalities and economic policies in road transport , 2010 .

[7]  Klaus Leidorf.  Environmental Governance, , 2007 .

[8]  N. Meinshausen,et al.  Greenhouse-gas emission targets for limiting global warming to 2 °C , 2009, Nature.

[9]  L. Greene.  EHPnet: United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change , 2000, Environmental Health Perspectives.

[10]  Anthony J. Venables,et al.  Closing coal: economic and moral incentives , 2014 .

[11]  Board on Energy,et al.  Transitions to Alternative Vehicles and Fuels , 2013 .

[12]  S. Proost,et al.  Is sustainable transport policy sustainable , 2015 .

[13]  Joeri Rogelj,et al.  Science and policy characteristics of the Paris Agreement temperature goal , 2016 .

[14]  C. Taylor,et al.  Stern Review: The Economics of Climate Change , 2006 .

[15]  S. Whitley,et al.  The fossil fuel bailout: G20 subsidies for oil, gas and coal exploration , 2014 .

[16]  D. Sperling.  An Innovative Path to Sustainable Transportation , 2014 .

[17]  D. Vuuren,et al.  The Emissions Gap Report 2012 , 2012 .