Land Transport Criteria Version 2

The Land Transport Criteria Version 2 establishes a framework for certifying green bonds in the transport sector, focusing on quantitative emissions thresholds and the exclusion of fossil-fuel-intensive assets. It prioritizes zero-direct-emissions vehicles and infrastructure, while setting specific benchmarks for passenger and freight transport to align with the Paris Agreement and the EU Taxonomy. The document details eligibility for various assets, including rail, road transport, and supporting infrastructure, while explicitly excluding biofuel vehicles and dedicated fossil fuel transport.

• The Transport Criteria employ a universal threshold approach to emissions intensity, which is simpler to track than mode-specific metrics and creates downward pressure for the maturation of low-carbon technologies.
• Passenger transport assets must meet an emissions threshold of 50g CO2 per p-km until 2025, after which only zero-emissions vehicles (0g CO2 per p-km) are eligible, aligning with the EU Taxonomy.
• Assets are automatically ineligible if they are dedicated to transporting fossil fuels; for rail, this is defined as more than 25% of assets or freight tonnage being fossil fuels.
• Biofuel vehicles are explicitly excluded from the criteria due to complexities regarding indirect land use change, deforestation, and the availability of superior alternatives like electrification.
• New interurban rail projects, including high-speed and dedicated freight lines, require an independent project appraisal demonstrating a minimum 25% reduction in total transport-related GHG emissions in the affected corridor.
• Zero-direct-emissions transport, including electrified and hydrogen-powered vehicles and their dedicated supporting infrastructure, are automatically eligible for certification.
• The criteria focus exclusively on Scope 1 (direct tailpipe) emissions for performance comparison, excluding Scope 2 and 3 emissions due to the practical difficulty of managing upstream or embedded emissions at the point of issuance.
• Certain infrastructure types, such as new roads, road bridges, parking facilities, and fossil fuel filling stations, are automatically ineligible as they encourage high carbon vehicle use patterns.
• The criteria allow for the manufacture of zero-direct-emissions miscellaneous vehicles used in other sectors, such as off-road excavators for construction or buggies for retail, to support broader sectoral decarbonisation.

APA

Moore, C., Leigh-Bell, J., & Jackson, H. (2020). Land Transport Criteria Version 2. Climate Bonds Initiative. https://www.climatebonds.net/files/drupal-files/files/CBI_Background%20Doc_Transport_25Nov2020%20.pdf

Chicago

Moore, Chris, Justine Leigh-Bell, and Helen Jackson. Land Transport Criteria Version 2. Climate Bonds Initiative, 2020. https://www.climatebonds.net/files/drupal-files/files/CBI_Background%20Doc_Transport_25Nov2020%20.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Moore |first1=Chris |last2=Leigh-Bell |first2=Justine |last3=Jackson |first3=Helen |title=Land Transport Criteria Version 2 |publisher=Climate Bonds Initiative |date=October 2020 |url=https://www.climatebonds.net/files/drupal-files/files/CBI_Background%20Doc_Transport_25Nov2020%20.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{moore2020land, author = {Moore, Chris and Leigh-Bell, Justine and Jackson, Helen}, title = {{Land Transport Criteria Version 2}}, institution = {Climate Bonds Initiative}, year = {2020}, month = oct, url = {https://www.climatebonds.net/files/drupal-files/files/CBI_Background%20Doc_Transport_25Nov2020%20.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }