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142 results
Half the Oil Plan Methodology and Assumptions
The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) argues that the U.S. can cut its projected oil use in half by 2035 compared to a 'do-nothing' baseline. By implementing technology and policy advances across transportation, buildings, and industry, the plan estimates a reduction of 11 million barrels per day (mbpd), resulting in gross cost savings of more than $550 billion and the creation of over 1 million net new jobs by 2035.
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Document type: Research paper
A Core Framework and Scenario for Deep GHG Reductions at the City Scale
The research paper investigates a bottom-up scenario for Seattle to reach carbon neutrality by 2050, identifying potential per capita GHG reductions of 34% by 2020 and 91% by 2050 within the buildings, transportation, and waste sectors. It further proposes a "core" emissions accounting framework that excludes industrial activity and a consumption-based perspective to expand the scope of policy solutions.
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Document type: Research paper
Tallinna Autobussikoondise linnaliinibusside alternatiivkütuste kasutuselevõtu asjaolude selgitamine: Uuringu lõpparuanne
The study assesses four scenarios for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in Tallinn's bus fleet by 2020, finding that while biodiesel and bioethanol offer the highest emission reductions, they are significantly more expensive per ton of CO2e reduced than other transport or energy sector measures.
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Document type: Report
Is there a case for the EU to move beyond 20% GHG emissions reduction by 2020?
The study uses the Imaclim-R model to analyze the economic trade-offs of EU emissions targets. It finds that a -20% target by 2020 may lead to prohibitive costs and negative GDP growth between 2040 and 2050 due to technological inertia and 'lock-in' of carbon-intensive infrastructure. While a more ambitious -30% target can reduce long-term risks and provide energy security co-benefits—especially in oil-constrained scenarios—it may impose significant short-term macroeconomic costs. The authors argue that carbon pricing alone is insufficient for 'inert' sectors like transport and residential buildings, recommending complementary sectoral policies, such as passenger car mobility reduction, to lower overall costs and avoid industrial decline.
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Document type: Research paper
National Clean Vehicle Program: Creating a Combined Standard
The National Clean Vehicle Program harmonizes fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions standards for light-duty vehicles through model year 2016, involving the NHTSA, EPA, and California Air Resources Board (CARB). The program aims to increase average fuel economy to nearly 34.1 mpg and reduce global warming tailpipe pollution by approximately 25% via a fleetwide target of 250 grams per mile. While California agreed to accept these federal standards through 2016, it retains the legal authority to set more stringent standards in the future.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Energy by the Numbers: VIRGINIA
As of 2006, fossil fuels accounted for 68% of Virginia's energy consumption, with approximately 78% of electricity generation derived from fossil fuels. Between 1990 and 2005, state greenhouse gas emissions increased by 15%, a growth rate slower than the U.S. average, with 91% of 2005 emissions resulting from energy consumption.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Biomass, Livelihoods and International Trade: Challenges and Opportunities for the EU and Southern Africa
The report examines the intersection of biomass, livelihoods, and international trade, focusing on the trade axis between the European Union and the Southern African Development Community (SADC). It highlights the growth of North-South trade in bioenergy, particularly liquid biofuels like bio-ethanol and biodiesel, driven by EU commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in transport. The document weighs the potential for economic growth and livelihood creation against risks of environmental degradation and economic exploitation, ultimately offering recommendations for future research, policy, and capacity building rather than definitive conclusions.
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Document type: Report
Getting There Greener
The report analyzes the CO2 emissions of air, rail, automobile, and motor coach travel for U.S. vacations, concluding that motor coaches and trains are generally the greenest options, while solo driving and first-class flights are the most polluting.
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Document type: Report
INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT FOR DOMESTIC CLIMATE POLICIES
The document analyzes the Brazilian transportation sector's shift toward low-carbon pathways, focusing on two key policies: the National Plan on Logistics and Transport (PNLT) and the Pro-Transport programme. While these policies were primarily designed for economic competitiveness and urban mobility rather than climate change, they offer significant greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation co-benefits. The author argues that while national-level logistics infrastructure is easier to fund due to its impact on economic competitiveness, local-level public transport funding remains a challenge. The paper suggests that international cooperation, including the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and UNFCCC frameworks, could catalyze these efforts, particularly in electrifying rail and improving urban transit.
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Document type: Research paper
How Cost-Effective Technology Can Increase Vehicle Fuel Economy
The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) analyzes various technology studies to demonstrate that U.S. passenger vehicles can cost-effectively reach a fleet average of approximately 40 mpg by 2020 using conventional technology and over 50 mpg by 2030 with hybrid-electric technology. The report criticizes the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) historical use of marginal cost-marginal benefit (MCMB) analysis, which often undervalues environmental and security benefits, and recommends a total cost-total benefit (TCTB) approach to set more aggressive standards.
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Document type: Report
Plug‐In Electric Vehicles
The document explains the different types of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs), including battery electric vehicles and various plug-in hybrids. It argues that PEVs can enhance U.S. energy security by displacing petroleum, which currently accounts for 96 percent of U.S. transportation energy. The text highlights that PEVs are more efficient than internal combustion engines, offering lower operating costs and a carbon footprint equivalent to a 50 mpg gasoline car. The primary barrier to market expansion is battery technology, though manufacturers like Chevrolet, Nissan, Toyota, and Volkswagen are working toward production by 2010.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Re: Draft Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle R&D Plan
EESI and the National Plug-In Partners Campaign critique the DOE's draft PHEV R&D Plan for being insufficiently aggressive in its deployment timelines and for omitting smart grid capabilities. They argue that existing industry progress from companies like General Motors and Tesla proves that PHEVs can be brought to market faster than the DOE's projections. The authors recommend that the DOE accelerate its battery development phases and require all demonstration vehicles to be "smart grid-capable" to enable future vehicle-to-grid (V2G) functionality.
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Document type: Statement
Creating Jobs, Saving Energy, and Protecting the Environment
The report finds that achieving a 35 mpg fleetwide average by 2018 would create 241,000 net new jobs in the U.S. by 2020, save consumers $37 billion in net costs, and reduce national oil use by 1.6 million barrels per day. Environmental benefits include a reduction of 260 to 264 million metric tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions by 2020. Job growth is projected across most sectors, particularly services and retail, while the oil industry would see a decline. California is projected to experience the highest job growth and consumer savings.
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Document type: Report
Transportation and Greenhouse Gas Emissions
The project examined three case studies in Santiago, Chile—bicycle infrastructure, bus technology, and location efficiency—to determine how the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) could promote sustainable transportation. It found that while technological improvements are possible, demand-side measures like land-use planning and comprehensive bicycle networks offer higher emission reductions but face significant methodological and financial barriers under current CDM rules. The document argues for reforming the CDM to allow for sectoral or policy-based approaches to better capture structural changes in urban transport.
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Document type: Executive summary
Services Assessment and the Market Access Phase of the WTO Services Negotiations
The document advocates for the use of national and sectoral assessments to evaluate the economic, developmental, and environmental impacts of services trade liberalisation. It specifically calls for the WTO Council for Trade in Services (CTS) to extend negotiating timelines beyond 2005 and postpone the March 2003 deadline for initial offers to allow members, particularly developing countries, sufficient time and resources to conduct these assessments and adjust negotiations based on the results.
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Document type: Statement
ASSESSING GOOD PRACTICES IN POLICIES AND MEASURES TO MITIGATE CLIMATE CHANGE IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE
The document describes a project to evaluate climate change mitigation policies and measures (PAM) in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) using a specific framework of six criteria: environmental outcomes, economic/social outcomes, technical outcomes, institution building potential, project sustainability, and dissemination/replication potential. Applying these criteria to case studies in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Slovenia revealed that while quantitative project data is accessible, qualitative factors like institutional development are harder to measure but critical for scaling. Findings varied by country, highlighting the effectiveness of small-scale municipal energy efficiency in Bulgaria, the limitations of planned transport measures in the Czech Republic, and the role of soft financing in Hungary and Poland to overcome economic barriers to renewables and efficiency.
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Document type: Research paper
Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Options for Pakistan: Transport Sector
The transport sector in Pakistan is projected to see a 128% increase in greenhouse gas emissions between 2012 and 2030, rising from 35.4 MtCO2e to 80.7 MtCO2e. The document identifies several mitigation strategies, prioritizing efficiency norms for passenger vehicles, road-to-rail transfers, Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) systems, and improved car maintenance. Efficiency norms for passenger cars, taxis, and vans are identified as the highest priority, with a potential reduction of 7.45 MtCO2e by 2030. Shifting freight and passengers from road to rail is another key strategy, though rail's share of freight has dropped to under 1%, with a national target of 20%. The expansion of BRT systems in cities like Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi-Islamabad, and Multan is also highlighted as a means to improve urban mobility and reduce emissions.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Transport BEST PRACTICE FOR ISSUING GREEN BONDS
The document provides a framework for issuers to align transport-sector green bonds with a 1.5°C warming limit. It details a three-step certification process (pre-issuance, issuance, and post-issuance), defines eligible low-carbon transport assets, and establishes specific emission thresholds for passenger and freight transport. It highlights Brazil as a growing market where transport is the third most financed taxonomy category for green bonds (10%), and provides a case study of Rumo S.A. regarding rail freight modernisation.
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Document type: Guide
How Could a California Green Bank Help Accelerate Decarbonization?
The fact sheet outlines how a California green bank could accelerate decarbonization in the transportation sector, which contributes roughly 40 percent of the state's GHG emissions. It proposes interventions across four areas: passenger vehicles, zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) infrastructure, goods movement, and regional planning. Key proposed mechanisms include providing credit enhancements to expand private lending for low-carbon vehicles and heavy-duty trucks, coordinating risk and financing for EV infrastructure to overcome the 'chicken-and-egg' challenge of adoption versus availability, supporting at-scale innovative freight infrastructure, and financing projects to reduce vehicle miles traveled (VMT).
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Document type: Fact sheet
Etiquetado vehicular en América
The document describes vehicle labeling as a public policy designed to provide consumers with information on energy and fuel consumption to encourage the purchase of more efficient vehicles. It lists the implementation years for this policy in the United States (1978), Canada (1999), Brazil (2008), Argentina (2019), Chile and Uruguay (2013), and Ecuador (2020). The policy aims to create a better-informed market, incentivize manufacturers to produce less polluting cars, and systematize energy consumption evaluations in the transport sector.
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Document type: Fact sheet