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Germany's climate policy : Facing an automobile dilemma

Gössling, Stefan LU and Metzler, Daniel (2017) In Energy Policy 105. p.418-428
Abstract
Germany has one of the most ambitious climate policy goals worldwide, having pledged to reduce national emissions by 40% by 2020, and 80–95% by 2050 (base year: 1990). 2015 data suggests that progress on decarbonisation has slowed, also because emissions from the transport sector have grown. Road transport, which is contributing 20.5% to Germany's CO2 emissions, has become a major obstacle to achieving the country's policy goals. This paper analyses energy use from road transport in order to provide a better understanding of emissions from this sub-sector. Data is derived from representative longitudinal household surveys as well as mobility and fuel diaries for the period 2002–2015. Analysis reveals significant growth in... (More)
Germany has one of the most ambitious climate policy goals worldwide, having pledged to reduce national emissions by 40% by 2020, and 80–95% by 2050 (base year: 1990). 2015 data suggests that progress on decarbonisation has slowed, also because emissions from the transport sector have grown. Road transport, which is contributing 20.5% to Germany's CO2 emissions, has become a major obstacle to achieving the country's policy goals. This paper analyses energy use from road transport in order to provide a better understanding of emissions from this sub-sector. Data is derived from representative longitudinal household surveys as well as mobility and fuel diaries for the period 2002–2015. Analysis reveals significant growth in energy-inefficient car choices, as well as considerable differences in mobility patterns (distances driven, driving styles) and actual fuel consumption between car segments. Findings suggest that German transport policies will fail to deliver significant emission reductions if complexities in car model choices and use patterns are ignored. Both command-and-control and market-based measures will be needed to align the transport sector with climate goals, while persisting policy inconsistencies will also have to be addressed. Findings are of central relevance for EU-wide and global climate policy in the transport sector. (Less)
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author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Energy Policy
volume
105
pages
418 - 428
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • scopus:85014899005
ISSN
1873-6777
DOI
10.1016/j.enpol.2017.03.019
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
42d9cd78-9ff6-4ee7-8fe6-19643881d844
date added to LUP
2018-04-13 12:47:53
date last changed
2022-12-22 19:22:41
@article{42d9cd78-9ff6-4ee7-8fe6-19643881d844,
  abstract     = {{Germany has one of the most ambitious climate policy goals worldwide, having pledged to reduce national emissions by 40% by 2020, and 80–95% by 2050 (base year: 1990). 2015 data suggests that progress on decarbonisation has slowed, also because emissions from the transport sector have grown. Road transport, which is contributing 20.5% to Germany's CO2 emissions, has become a major obstacle to achieving the country's policy goals. This paper analyses energy use from road transport in order to provide a better understanding of emissions from this sub-sector. Data is derived from representative longitudinal household surveys as well as mobility and fuel diaries for the period 2002–2015. Analysis reveals significant growth in energy-inefficient car choices, as well as considerable differences in mobility patterns (distances driven, driving styles) and actual fuel consumption between car segments. Findings suggest that German transport policies will fail to deliver significant emission reductions if complexities in car model choices and use patterns are ignored. Both command-and-control and market-based measures will be needed to align the transport sector with climate goals, while persisting policy inconsistencies will also have to be addressed. Findings are of central relevance for EU-wide and global climate policy in the transport sector.}},
  author       = {{Gössling, Stefan and Metzler, Daniel}},
  issn         = {{1873-6777}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{418--428}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Energy Policy}},
  title        = {{Germany's climate policy : Facing an automobile dilemma}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2017.03.019}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.enpol.2017.03.019}},
  volume       = {{105}},
  year         = {{2017}},
}