Meeting Transportation Greenhouse Gas Reduction Goals in the National Capital Region: A 'What Would it Take' Scenario

摘要

This paper provides a summary of the development, analysis and results of the "What Would itTake?" scenario, which examines what it would take in the National Capital Region to meetaggressive regional climate change mitigation goals in the transportation sector. This reportincludes a baseline inventory and forecast of carbon dioxide (CO_2) emissions in the region,identification and analysis of potential mitigation strategies, and an analysis of whether anycombination of these strategies meets long-term mitigation goals. The report also includes cost-effectiveness analysis of these measures and specifically identifies short-term measures that canbe feasibly implemented by local governments in the region. Major findings of the report arethat it would be difficult to meet aggressive mitigation targets without a full suite of actionsacross the categories of fuel efficiency, alternative fuels, and travel efficiency. It was found thatmeeting early targets in transportation is possible if a wide range of short-term actions are takenby local governments immediately. The study also found that transportation strategies areunlikely to be implemented for CO_2 reduction alone and will have various other benefits fromcriteria pollutant reduction to increasing mobility and accessibility that should be factored intodecision-making.