US seeking plan to decarbonize transportation

President Joe Biden's administration is giving itself until nearly the end of the year to come up with a strategy to rapidly reduce greenhouse gas emissions from freight travel and passenger transportation.

Four federal agencies — including the US Transportation Department and the US Environmental Protection Agency — today agreed to come up with a joint strategy to decarbonize transportation. That sector is responsible for the largest share of US greenhouse gas emissions, accounting for 27pc of the 5,200mn metric tonnes of CO2 equivalent the US emitted that year.

"With this agreement, we will collaborate across the federal government to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and deliver the clean transportation future that Americans want and deserve," US transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg said.

The non-binding agreement does not set a specific target for cutting transportation emissions. But the administration says decarbonizing transportation is needed for the US to meet Biden's goal for the US to become a net-zero emissions economy by no later than 2050.

The agreement sets a 90-day deadline to draft a "decarbonize strategy" that will cover policy, research, development and deployment. Another goal is to create an executive-level team that will carry out the initiative and gather feedback. The US Energy Department and the US Housing and Urban Development Department are also part of the joint agreement.

Making cars and trucks more fuel-efficient, increasing sales of electric vehicles and expanding public transit are among the easier options for reducing emissions from transportation, analysts say. But tackling emissions from planes, ships and long-haul trucking is likely to be harder because they require energy-dense fuels. The use of low-carbon biofuels and clean hydrogen are among the options for lowering those emissions.

The Biden administration plans to tap hundreds of billions of dollars in last year's infrastructure law and this year's climate law to support the initiative. Among their goals is to expand the availability of lower-carbon transportation options like light rail and bicycling, while cutting the cost of electric vehicles and other low-emission vehicles for consumers.

The agreement comes as the administration pursues other initiatives to cut down on emissions related to transportation infrastructure, such as a "Buy Clean" program under which the Transportation Department and other agencies will try to procure asphalt, concrete, steel and flat glass that are manufactured with lower carbon emissions.

By Chris Knight