The Role of Driving in Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Oil Consumption

The report concludes that the United States cannot meet its oil and GHG targets through vehicle technology alone and must also reduce per capita vehicle miles traveled (VMT). It highlights a lack of evaluation for existing federal transportation programs and recommends that the U.S. Department of Transportation and Congress prioritize funding and planning for strategies that reduce VMT, such as public transit and pricing, to eliminate oil imports by 2030.

• In 2008, transportation accounted for 31 percent of carbon dioxide emissions and 71 percent of oil consumption in the United States.
• Technological improvements alone are insufficient to meet oil and GHG targets; the U.S. must also reduce per capita vehicle miles traveled (VMT) compared to 2050 business-as-usual projections, which forecast a 40 percent increase over 2010 levels.
• Combining vehicle technology improvements with reductions in per capita VMT would allow the United States to stop importing oil by 2030.
• There is a general lack of evaluation regarding the impact of existing federal transportation programs on VMT, oil use, or GHG emissions, although evidence suggests that strategies like parking management, pricing, and public transit do reduce these metrics.

APA

World Resources Institute (n.d.). The Role of Driving in Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Oil Consumption. https://www.wri.org/role-driving-reducing-greenhouse-gas-emissions-and-oil-consumption

Chicago

World Resources Institute. The Role of Driving in Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Oil Consumption. n.d. https://www.wri.org/role-driving-reducing-greenhouse-gas-emissions-and-oil-consumption.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=The Role of Driving in Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Oil Consumption |url=https://www.wri.org/role-driving-reducing-greenhouse-gas-emissions-and-oil-consumption |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitutendrole, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{The Role of Driving in Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Oil Consumption}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, url = {https://www.wri.org/role-driving-reducing-greenhouse-gas-emissions-and-oil-consumption}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }