Fueling a Clean Transportation Future

The report argues that while vehicle tailpipe emissions are decreasing due to efficiency gains, the overall climate impact of gasoline is rising because the oil industry is shifting toward more energy-intensive and polluting extraction and refining methods. It highlights the high emissions from depleted wells, tight oil (fracking), and tar sands, and calls for increased transparency, the elimination of routine flaring, and a transition to cleaner fuels to reduce the projected 100 billion barrels of oil consumption between 2015 and 2035.

• Oil is the largest source of U.S. global warming pollution, with emissions from gasoline use alone totaling approximately 1 billion tons of CO2.
• The carbon intensity of gasoline production is increasing because the industry is shifting from easy-to-extract oil to unconventional resources that require more energy-intensive extraction and refining.
• Upstream emissions from extracting and refining add significantly to a vehicle's total climate impact; for a typical car getting 25 mpg, these processes add an average of 1.5 tons of CO2e per year, or about 35 percent of the total.
• Extraction from depleted oil wells has become more polluting due to the need for water flooding and steam injection; for example, injecting water can increase production emissions by 15 kg CO2e per barrel for every additional 10 barrels of water pumped.
• Tight oil production, particularly in North Dakota, has seen a surge in venting and flaring of associated natural gas; the percentage of gas vented or flared rose from less than 5 percent between 2000 and 2005 to more than 30 percent between 2011 and 2013.
• Tar sands (oil sands) are among the most carbon-intensive oils, with extraction and refining emissions ranging from 180 to 250 kg CO2e per barrel.
• The 'Half the Oil' plan by the Union of Concerned Scientists aims to reduce projected U.S. oil use by 50 percent by 2035, though cumulative use would still reach approximately 100 billion barrels between 2015 and 2035.
• Mitigation opportunities include eliminating routine flaring, using renewable energy (such as concentrating solar power) for steam generation in depleted wells, and improving refinery efficiency.

APA

Union of Concerned Scientists (2017). Fueling a Clean Transportation Future. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2017/02/Fueling-Clean-Transportation-Future-Oil.pdf

Chicago

Union of Concerned Scientists. Fueling a Clean Transportation Future. 2017. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2017/02/Fueling-Clean-Transportation-Future-Oil.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Union of Concerned Scientists |title=Fueling a Clean Transportation Future |date=February 2017 |url=https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2017/02/Fueling-Clean-Transportation-Future-Oil.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{unionofconcernedscientists2017fueling, author = {{Union of Concerned Scientists}}, title = {{Fueling a Clean Transportation Future}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2017}, month = feb, url = {https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2017/02/Fueling-Clean-Transportation-Future-Oil.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }