Measuring Progress Toward Passenger Vehicle Greenhouse Gas Goals

The State of California seeks to induce per capita reductions in regional greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from transportation by setting modeling targets for regional transportation and land use plans. Accurate and valid forecasting models that are sensitive to future transportation and land use policies are essential to regional greenhouse gas emissions reduction schemes in California and elsewhere. In this paper, the author makes recommendations to policymakers in order to improve the accuracy and validity of regional, integrated transportation-land use-emissions models. The author recommends a statewide taskforce for modeling to improve statewide data and model interoperability and investments in a project- and corridor- level empirical evaluation methodology to produce standardized micro-scale data. The author recommends these efforts be aided by a statewide data integration office that assists transportation and land-use authorities in making sense of big data. Other recommendations include the transition to a modal emissions model, the use of fuel sales and remote sensing to validate transportation CO₂ measurements, and establishing regional emissions targets that are responsive to changes in exogenous factors. While specific to the California policy context and implementation of the state’s Sustainable Communities and Climate Protection Act of 2008 (SB 375), the findings have relevance to other areas of the United States and internationally as subnational jurisdictions look to adopt greenhouse gas targets for transportation.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper was sponsored by TRB committee ADC70(2) Climate Change. Alternate title: Measuring Progress Toward Transportation Greenhouse Gas Goals.
• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Authors:
  • Matute, Juan M
• Conference:
  • Transportation Research Board 93rd Annual Meeting
  • Location: Washington DC
  • Date: 2014-1-12 to 2014-1-16
• Date: 2014

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 15p
• Monograph Title: TRB 93rd Annual Meeting Compendium of Papers

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Greenhouse gases; Land use planning; Policy analysis; Pollutants; Remote sensing; Strategic planning; Sustainable development
• Geographic Terms: California
• Subject Areas: Environment; Highways; Planning and Forecasting; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01515151
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: 14-1721
• Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
• Created Date: Feb 21 2014 3:16PM