This document discusses strategies to reduce transportation sector emissions in the United States. It notes that transportation accounts for 27% of total US emissions and over half of emissions from passenger vehicles. The document outlines strategies to improve vehicle efficiency through increased fuel economy standards and use of low-carbon fuels. It also discusses opportunities to improve system efficiency through better transportation, land use, and infrastructure planning. These strategies could reduce transportation emissions by 17-38% by 2020 and up to 80% by 2050 according to analysis by the Natural Resources Defense Council.

1. Climate and Transportation: Pulling Out the StopsDeron LovaasFederal Transportation Policy DirectorNatural Resources Defense CouncilITS AmericaHouston, TexasMay 4, 2010

2. Moving America Beyond Oil“ We have a serious problem. America is addicted to oil.” President George W. Bush, 2006 State of the Union

3. 2008 EPA Emissions InventoryTransportationPassenger Vehicles = 58%Economy-wideTransportation = 27%*3* End use only. If production and refining of petroleum is included, then transportation share would increase to roughly 1/3rd.Source: 2010 EPA GHG Emission Inventory

4. Travel Activity and Oil Imports4

5. Fuel Economy: Jump, then Stall5

6. Vehicle and Fuel Improvements:Cornerstone, but Not the BuildingU.S. Transportation Sector Emissions750 MMT570 MMTAssumes fixed efficiency baseline.325 MMT LDV CO2 and CAFE Stds plus RFS2Reduction Targets(from 2005 baseline) 2020 = 17%2030 = 38%2050 = 80%Source: NRDC analysis6

7. Vehicle Efficiency Options7Source: DOT Report to Congress, April 2010

8. Low-Carbon Fuel Strategies8Source: DOT Report to Congress, April 2010

9. System Efficiency + Reducing Carbon-Intensive ActivitiesCombined 2.9-6.1% Reduction Potential from:Highway and Truck Operations and ManagementFreight Rail and Marine OperationsAir Traffic OperationsInfrastructure Construction and MaintenanceCombined 4.9-17% (2030) and 6.4-21% (2050) Reduction Potential from:PricingTransit, Nonmotorized and Intermodal TravelLand Use and ParkingCommute Travel ReductionPublic Information Campaigns9Source: DOT Report to Congress, April 2010

10. Sea Change for CAFE, What Next?And now, AAM says: “The national [fuel economy and GHG] program announced today makes sense for consumers, for government policymakers and for automakers.”10

11. 11Source: CBO, 2007

12. VMT Growth: Already Trending Downward12Source: Pisarski and Cambridge Systematics

13. “The Market Wants this Stuff”Source: Jonathan Levine, Zoned Out: Regulations, Markets and Choices in Transportation and Metropolitan Land-Use, 2006.

14. 14Thank You!dlovaas@nrdc.org202-289-2384For more information regarding NRDC’s Energy Programhttp://www.nrdc.org/energy/