Transport

Transport consumes about 26% of UK fossil fuel and emits around 22% of CO₂

Petrol and diesel dominate consumption and will need to be substantially replaced by alternatives in the future. Because of the size and consumption of the sector, any strategy for change will have a major impact on the UK economy and road users.

Significant report findings - Transport

1. Changes in travel habits and freight movements to cut road use combined with a large-scale and rapid switch to electric vehicles are critical.
2. 80% of road fuel consumption must be displaced by electric cars and vans by 2050. This will require an extensive new nationwide battery charging infrastructure expected to deliver half of all electricity production by 2050.
3. Large-scale development in public transport will make an important contribution to reduce road vehicle use and help curtail growth in road transport.
4. Vehicle efficiency improvements alone cannot provide the levels of energy reduction necessary in this sector, but they are an important short-term transition measure.
5. Hydrogen is not an effective means of delivering energy to vehicles. It would demand two to three times the renewable electricity of battery vehicles and require a costly new infrastructure of hydrogen production and distribution with large-scale carbon capture and storage.
6. Heavy goods vehicles are responsible for 5% of UK CO₂ emissions. No alternative to fossil fuel appears to be a good match to the power and range needed. Therefore urgent work is required to develop an alternative means of delivering low-carbon energy to these vehicles.

Required areas for further work in the transport sector.

 

 

 

2009 © Parsons Brinckerhoff

Contact Us

Site Map

Terms of Use

Accessibility