Defining the Pathway for Decarbonization in the Transport Sector

Did you know that transport, including air, sea and land travel, is responsible for nearly 25%¹ of the world's carbon emissions and 64%² of global oil consumption?

As populations expand and economies evolve, global demand for passenger and freight transportation grows, along with transport’s emissions footprint. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, this trend shows no sign of abating³. Transport-related emissions will continue to rise unless we make rapid, large-scale reductions in greenhouse gas emissions stemming from these activities.

As such, it has become a global imperative for governments, transport authorities and organizations to set the transport sector on track to meet the Paris Climate Agreement targets and avert the worst climate impacts.

Decarbonization delivery framework

Decarbonization is a complex process and requires input from a broad range of experts and stakeholders.

Teams must collect and report data, calculate emissions, set targets and manage abatement initiatives. Defining and adopting a comprehensive approach to decarbonization will help organizations systematically and effectively tackle emissions reduction, chart a clear pathway to carbon neutral operations and set the stage for a more sustainable future.

Baselining emissions is the first critical step toward decarbonization

To achieve net zero emissions, it's important to have a clear understanding of where you currently stand. Measuring baseline emissions is an essential first step to this process. Baselining emissions helps organizations understand the sources and intensity of their scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions, identify the areas where emissions reduction strategies can be most impactful and provides point of reference against which future progress can be tracked.

However, for many organizations, baselining emissions can be a big challenge. The process of tracking and reporting emissions data can be time-consuming and resource intensive, particularly for Scope 3 emissions which are large and indirect. Further, the uncertainties associated with the analysis and interpretation of results can sometimes lead to more questions than answers. 

Electrifying vehicle fleets is a key priority

Domestic and international transport currently generates 20 percent of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, as per World Bank⁴. In particular, road travel accounts for three-quarters of transport emissions. Most of these emissions come from passenger vehicles such as cars, taxis and buses. Electric vehicles, hydrogen-powered vehicles, and active transportation such as bicycles and other forms of micro-mobility offer viable alternatives; however, the scale of uptake of zero emission vehicles to date has been modest, and we’ve got a long way to go.

To further accelerate the transition to green fleets, ramping up investment in alternative vehicle technology research, development and deployment, as well as the associated charging or refueling infrastructure must be at the top of the agenda.

To decarbonize the rail sector, electrification of rolling stock and associated infrastructure is the key, which should then be powered by renewable energy instead of fossil fuels. Another alternative is to increase the uptake of hydrogen fuel cell, batteries and biodiesel for rolling stock.

Measuring impacts of new energy sources, as well as changes driven by performance characteristics of fleets

Transitioning from fossil fuels to lower carbon alternatives has a vital role in reducing transport's climate footprint. Alternative fuels such as biofuels and energy sources such as solar, wind, hydrogen and geothermal, can be explored. As new innovations and technologies are developed and tested, rigorous monitoring of performance, efficiencies and impacts of these solutions is critical to identify areas for improvement.

Numerous methods and tools can be applied to set robust ‘science-based’ goals at both local and regional levels. This includes defining impact and opportunity by sector or service area if required. If offsetting is required, assurance on approach, principles, ownership and validity will need to be planned.

Generating maximum social, economic, and environmental benefits

Decarbonization presents a significant opportunity for transport authorities to collaborate with city stakeholders and local communities to look for synergies across diverse projects, assets and infrastructure to deliver the maximum associated social, economic and environmental benefits. Beyond climate impacts, we must not lose sight of opportunities to contribute to the broader society's quality of life, community wellbeing, equity and economic mobility.

In conclusion

Significant strides are being made to support a transition to a zero-carbon transport system. However, further efforts are required to transform the sector successfully, including:

• Accelerating the broad adoption of zero emission road vehicles and the supporting charging and refueling infrastructure.
• Advancing government policies and regulations and incentivizing industry-led technological advancements are also critical in supporting this transition.  Driving original equipment manufacturer coordination, battery technology advancements, and provision of grid reinforcement and infrastructure to enable uptake and consumer confidence.
• Exploring innovative technologies such as Vehicle to Grid (V2G) technology potential to perform a load balancing service and support in managing the variability of renewables.
• Transitioning rail services to full electrification or hydrogen fuels, supported by both efficiencies and increased deployment of renewable energy.
• Clearly prioritizing active mobility and associated infrastructure to enable the transition.
• Adopting a holistic, integrated approach with clear alignment of local policies to achieve carbon neutral goals, reduce congestion, improve air quality and tackle health, wellbeing and equality issues.

How we’re helping our transport clients decarbonize

As one of the world’s largest consulting firms – backed by decades of cross-market delivery across rail, aviation, roads, transit, ports and maritime, as well as energy and power, we’re uniquely positioned to help our transport clients find the best solutions to their decarbonization challenges.

Whether we’re implementing net zero strategies for major transport programs, investigating the technical feasibility of hydrogen-powered rail systems and airplanes, implementing carbon reduction measures at world-class airports, or supporting the conversion of vehicle fleets to zero-emission alternatives, our team has played critical roles in helping transport clients move forward in their decarbonization journey.

• As the Carbon Manager and Life-Cycle Analysis (LCA) Practitioner, we’re supporting the UK’s High-Speed Rail 2 to advance its goal of achieving 50% carbon reduction through carbon and LCA baseline assessments, carbon management processes as well as providing ongoing support in reassessing the updated design at each project gateway.
• Jacobs is supporting transportation agencies in major cities such as New York City and San Francisco with their fleet electrification programs. Our green fleets team supports battery electric bus engineering and procurement, program management and implementation for the zero-emission transition of 6,000+ buses and 30+ supporting depots across the United States.
• Partnering with Transport Scotland, we supported the development of a sustainability strategy for the management of carbon, energy, materials and waste to make sustainability a systematic consideration as part of its £3 billion transport program.
• In the last five years, our transport planners have supported Brisbane City Council in developing a green and clean fleet solution to address the city’s bus network congestion issues. The new, improved bus system will showcase cutting-edge, green transit solutions on the world stage, introducing battery-electric with zero tailpipe emissions – which also involves redesigning the public transport network.
• Jacobs is providing project management and design services to successfully deliver an inductive vehicle charging pilot project through to operation – the first of its kind in the U.S. The project includes a one-mile stretch of dynamic and stationary wireless EV charging technology in Detroit, Michigan hosted by the Michigan Central mobility innovation district with partners Michigan Department of Transportation, Electreon, Ford and NextEnergy.
• We’re also helping Londoners swap to active travel through two significant travel and road space reallocations projects and supporting Transport for London in deploying 60 rapid charging stations for taxi operators and public utilization in the city.
• We’ve developed a spatial climate risk and vulnerability assessment of Western Australia’s entire rail network to mitigate and adapt to impacts from climate change.

[1] https://www.iea.org/data-and-statistics/charts/global-energy-related-co2-emissions-by-sector

[2] https://www.iisd.org/articles/deep-dive/road-sustainable-transport

[3] https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar5/wg3/

[4] https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/transport/overview

[5] https://www.iea.org/reports/global-ev-outlook-2020

[6] https://www.counterpointresearch.com/global-electric-vehicle-market-share/