Transport is the fastest-growing energy sector world-wide. Every year increasing numbers of drivers at the wheels of ever larger vehicles burn more petroleum products and emit more carbon dioxide. The danger is clear. Nations around the world have taken up the challenge to reduce oil use and the CO2 that comes with it.
This report examines the multiple policy approaches being taken by IEA Member countries to reduce transport-related carbon emissions. These include improving fuel economy in new cars and trucks, as well as reducing fuel consumption by vehicles already on the road. Also covered are the use of alternative fuel sources and ways to cut the growth in travel, such as by improving transit systems and using new technologies to reduce congestion.
Energy-saving options in freight transport are also explored, such as making trucks and trucking systems more efficient and how to move more goods by rail and water-borne transport. More than twenty different approaches are developed, including some which have been neglected by most IEA countries. The study discusses the benefits and costs of each option, as well as obstacles it faces, and quantifies the effect of each option in reducing oil use and CO2 emissions. Success stories from IEA countries are presented, as well as some stories of failure.
