19,450 research outputs found

    Carbon Free Boston: Transportation Technical Report

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    Part of a series of reports that includes: Carbon Free Boston: Summary Report; Carbon Free Boston: Social Equity Report; Carbon Free Boston: Technical Summary; Carbon Free Boston: Buildings Technical Report; Carbon Free Boston: Waste Technical Report; Carbon Free Boston: Energy Technical Report; Carbon Free Boston: Offsets Technical ReportOVERVIEW: Transportation connects Boston’s workers, residents and tourists to their livelihoods, health care, education, recreation, culture, and other aspects of life quality. In cities, transit access is a critical factor determining upward mobility. Yet many urban transportation systems, including Boston’s, underserve some populations along one or more of those dimensions. Boston has the opportunity and means to expand mobility access to all residents, and at the same time reduce GHG emissions from transportation. This requires the transformation of the automobile-centric system that is fueled predominantly by gasoline and diesel fuel. The near elimination of fossil fuels—combined with more transit, walking, and biking—will curtail air pollution and crashes, and dramatically reduce the public health impact of transportation. The City embarks on this transition from a position of strength. Boston is consistently ranked as one of the most walkable and bikeable cities in the nation, and one in three commuters already take public transportation. There are three general strategies to reaching a carbon-neutral transportation system: • Shift trips out of automobiles to transit, biking, and walking;1 • Reduce automobile trips via land use planning that encourages denser development and affordable housing in transit-rich neighborhoods; • Shift most automobiles, trucks, buses, and trains to zero-GHG electricity. Even with Boston’s strong transit foundation, a carbon-neutral transportation system requires a wholesale change in Boston’s transportation culture. Success depends on the intelligent adoption of new technologies, influencing behavior with strong, equitable, and clearly articulated planning and investment, and effective collaboration with state and regional partners.Published versio

    Green Electricity and Transportation (GET) Smart: Policy Solutions to Increase Energy Independence

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    Ohioans spend a large amount of money on energy. In 2010, we spent 45billion,nearly10percentofourstate′sgrossdomesticproduct.Nearlyhalfofthoseenergydollars(ormorethan45 billion, nearly 10 percent of our state's gross domestic product. Nearly half of those energy dollars (or more than 20 billion) was spent to fuel cars, trucks, and buses, and nearly all of which left the state or country in order to import oil. Ohio can reduce its dependence on imported oil by promoting electric vehicles (EVs) and buses, as well as passenger and freight rail

    Final report: Workshop on: Integrating electric mobility systems with the grid infrastructure

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    EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: This document is a report on the workshop entitled “Integrating Electric Mobility Systems with the Grid Infrastructure” which was held at Boston University on November 6-7 with the sponsorship of the Sloan Foundation. Its objective was to bring together researchers and technical leaders from academia, industry, and government in order to set a short and longterm research agenda regarding the future of mobility and the ability of electric utilities to meet the needs of a highway transportation system powered primarily by electricity. The report is a summary of their insights based on workshop presentations and discussions. The list of participants and detailed Workshop program are provided in Appendices 1 and 2. Public and private decisions made in the coming decade will direct profound changes in the way people and goods are moved and the ability of clean energy sources – primarily delivered in the form of electricity – to power these new systems. Decisions need to be made quickly because of rapid advances in technology, and the growing recognition that meeting climate goals requires rapid and dramatic action. The blunt fact is, however, that the pace of innovation, and the range of business models that can be built around these innovations, has grown at a rate that has outstripped our ability to clearly understand the choices that must be made or estimate the consequences of these choices. The group of people assembled for this Workshop are uniquely qualified to understand the options that are opening both in the future of mobility and the ability of electric utilities to meet the needs of a highway transportation system powered primarily by electricity. They were asked both to explain what is known about the choices we face and to define the research issues most urgently needed to help public and private decision-makers choose wisely. This report is a summary of their insights based on workshop presentations and discussions. New communication and data analysis tools have profoundly changed the definition of what is technologically possible. Cell phones have put powerful computers, communication devices, and position locators into the pockets and purses of most Americans making it possible for Uber, Lyft and other Transportation Network Companies to deliver on-demand mobility services. But these technologies, as well as technologies for pricing access to congested roads, also open many other possibilities for shared mobility services – both public and private – that could cut costs and travel time by reducing congestion. Options would be greatly expanded if fully autonomous vehicles become available. These new business models would also affect options for charging electric vehicles. It is unclear, however, how to optimize charging (minimizing congestion on the electric grid) without increasing congestion on the roads or creating significant problems for the power system that supports such charging capacity. With so much in flux, many uncertainties cloud our vision of the future. The way new mobility services will reshape the number, length of trips, and the choice of electric vehicle charging systems and constraints on charging, and many other important behavioral issues are critical to this future but remain largely unknown. The challenge at hand is to define plausible future structures of electric grids and mobility systems, and anticipate the direct and indirect impacts of the changes involved. These insights can provide tools essential for effective private ... [TRUNCATED]Workshop funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundatio

    Geographic features of zero-emissions urban mobility: the case of electric buses in Europe and Belarus

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    This article reviews the emerging phenomena of electric buses’ deployment in Europe and Belarus within the general framework of the concept of sustainable and electric urban mobility. The author offers a brief overview of electric bus technologies available on the market and a spatial analysis of fleet deployment in Europe. The analysis of the spatial structure of the distribution of e-buses in Europe indicated that, in terms of the number of vehicles in operation, the UK and the Netherlands are the regional leaders, while in terms of the number of cities testing e-buses – Germany, Sweden, and Poland are the leaders. The analysis showed that the main factors supporting the distribution of innovative technology and public support are legislative and regulative framework as well as clear strategic planning and cooperation between local administrations and transportation authorities. Other important aspects, such as network building features, and the location of the charging infrastructure were also discussed. The analysis of the case study of Minsk (the first city to introduce electric buses in Belarus) outlined the typical limiting factors for all types of markets: high battery costs and dependency on infrastructure; recommendations are given to emphasise bus fleet replacement (instead of trolleybus) and to develop a comprehensive sustainable urban mobility strategy

    Policy instruments to promote electro-mobilityiIn the Eu28: A comprehensive review

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    Despite its environmental benefits, the amount of Electric Vehicles (EVs) in use within the European Union 28 is still very limited. Poor penetration might be explained by certain factors that dissuade potential buyers. To balance these factors and promote electro-mobility, Member States have established incentives to increase demand. However, the various measures are scattered. This paper contributes to fill the gap in the literature by offering an overall view of the main measures. The authors will focus on measures to promote electro-mobility within the EU28 until 2014. After an in-depth and comprehensive review of the relevant measures, the authors conclude that the most important policy instruments to promote EVs are tax and infrastructure measures in addition to financial incentives for purchasing and supporting R&D projects. Regardless of the scarcity of EV registration data, the available information allows us to conclude that higher EV penetration levels appear in countries where the registration tax, the ownership tax, or both taxes have developed a partial green tax by including CO2 emissions in the calculation of the final invoice.Junta de AndalucĂ­a proyecto SEJ-132Ministerio de EconomĂ­a y Competitividad de EspaĂąa, CĂĄtedra de EconomĂ­a de la EnergĂ­a y del Medio Ambiente (CĂĄtedra de EnergĂ­a y EconomĂ­a Ambiental) ECO2014-56399-RUniversidad AutĂłnoma de Chil

    Examining How Federal Infrastructure Policy Could Help Mitigate and Adapt to Climate Change: Hearing Before the H. Comm. on Transp. & Infrastructure, 116th Cong., Feb. 26, 2019 (Statement of Vicki Arroyo)

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    As the Fourth National Climate Assessment, released in November, describes, the United States is already experiencing serious impacts of climate change—and the risks to communities all across the country are growing rapidly. These findings, along with those in the 2018 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)report, are clear and should be a call to immediate action. Even if we manage to limit planetary warming to just 2 degrees C, the world will still face increased chances of economic and social upheaval from more severe flooding, droughts, heatwaves, and other climate impacts as well as devastating environmental consequences, the IPCC report warns. The scientific consensus as described in the IPCC Special Report is that countries around the world must rapidly decarbonize their economies, cutting greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030 and to near zero by 2050. Yet the current trends are going in the wrong direction. Despite our increasing understanding of the narrowing window to act, U.S. GHG emissions increased by 3.4% in 2018, according to a January report from the Rhodium Group. Clearly more action is needed. The encouraging news is that many states and cities have committed to taking action. They are taking steps to reduce emissions through legislation, executive orders, and pledges made in collaborations such as the US Climate Alliance –now covering roughly half the US population and GDP. In my testimony, I will be focusing on the transportation sector, which is the largest contributor of GHG emissions in the United States, and is already facing significant impacts from climate change. Federal standards have been important in increasing efficiency and reducing emissions, yet transportation-sector emissions are increasing as more vehicle miles are driven, more freight is transported in trucks, and airline travel continues to grow. Transportation is becoming an increasingly large share of U.S. economy-wide emissions as the power sector decarbonizes as a result of market shifts and policy. There is an urgent need, therefore, to transition to a low-carbon transportation system. Such a transition would not only reduce emissions and fight climate change, it also would bring additional important benefits, including protecting public health by reducing conventional air pollution, providing more mobility options, and driving innovation and economic growth through policy action and through public and private investment

    Future “greener” urban transport: accessible, mobile and resilient cities?

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    Geographers, amongst others, have been considering urban futures for some time now. They all try to conceptually understand what a “sustainable city” in Europe / the UK / globally might look like. oncepts such as liveable, “green”, sustainable and resilient are being discussed, with carbon emissions and transitions, including from transport. Mobility (or what some authors call motility) is one strand, with lifecycle assessment of vehicles and fuels being applied . This article reviews visions and policies for more resilient urban transport
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