Reducing CO{2} Emissions from Motor Vehicles: Testing the Impacts of Different Policy Initiatives

Before policy and decision-makers develop strategies to reduce transport-related emissions they need to understand how and why people make transport choices and what influences the nature of the transport system. A framework is presented to elucidate these factors and used to examine the impact of different policy initiatives to reduce motor vehicle CO{2} emissions. Socio-economic and cultural policy initiatives stand out as the most effective focus for reducing CO{2} emissions. In contrast, more obvious initiatives rooted in improving fossil fuel technologies show considerably less effectiveness. Reducing future CO{2} emissions from motor vehicles are likely to depend on a combination of decisions and actions from many levels of society, including understanding how different policy initiatives will impact different geopolitical sectors through to the advancement of alternative fuel technologies and transport. A more socio-economic focussed approach to policy design and implementation is regarded as integral to efforts to successfully reduce future CO{2} emissions from motor vehicle transport.