Towards A Carbon-Neutral Transport Sector - Research Perspectives and Policy Options

By moving people and goods, the transport sector moves the economy. The road, rail, maritime, and aviation segments represent the backbone of the transport sector, accounting for most of the passengers and freight movements of national and international transport. At national and international levels, the sector accounts for a relevant share of the primary energy consumption in any developed economy. In the last decades, the concern about transport-related emissions has assumed a central role in the discussion about the future trends for the sector.

The problem of curbing emissions, and mitigating the sector’s impact on Global Warming, is on the agenda of any state, and of the major international institutions. This issue is prominent for segments of the transport sector that are difficult to directly electrify, also known as hard-to-abate. The freight sector is an exemplary case, encompassing heavy-duty road transport and international maritime, as well as international civil aviation.

With respect to the challenges of decarbonizing such segments the transport, research can offer a wide pool of options. The peculiarities of each mode of transport can in fact result in great opportunities, to apply specific solutions, and to seek complementariness, beyond modal shift.

Reaching carbon neutrality in the transport sector is a great, modern challenge. A wide pool of solutions is being researched, and partially already developed and demonstrated at commercial scale. Current options include the use of alternative energy carriers, innovative powertrains, solutions for promoting modal shift, and a profound rethinking of the transport infrastructure. While there is not a silver bullet that can deliver the desired outcome, all these solutions can concur with the decarbonization of the transport sector. However, further research is needed to attain the ambitious targets, in particular targeting commercial feasibility, impact and potential synergies, to make innovations able to impact at large scale.

Besides the technical point of view, the current efforts of international institutions such as the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and International Maritime Organization (IMO) clearly depict the potential role of policies and regulations, in stimulating and supporting the market deployment of alternative solutions for the transport sector. The creation of a coherent and internationally accepted policy framework is of utmost importance, in particular for those segments which, by their own nature, cross the borders of national regulations.

The present collection aims to promote the scientific discussion around the technically viable solutions, addressing the concept of sustainability in its main pillars: economic, societal, and environmental. At the same time, the technical solutions must be applied in a context suitable for their deployment, and for this reason, the collection also aims at stimulating the discussion about potential supporting policy measures.

Keywords::Sustainable transport, decarbonization, alternative fuels, energy carriers, sustainability, policy for transport