Oxford Univ study presents 'roadmap to greener transport'
Sat 16 January 2010
View all news
A new report by the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment at Oxford University suggests that the best way to cut transport emissions in the short-term is a drastic downscaling of both size and weight of conventional petrol and diesel cars.
The 'Future of Mobility Roadmap' assesses the potential for low carbon transport on land, by air and sea. It finds that electric and hydrogen vehicles are likely to remain niche products for many years because of limited battery life and the high cost of platinum, which is needed for the catalysts in hydrogen fuelled cars.
The study editor Sir David King (former Chief Scientific Adviser to the Government) and lead author Dr Oliver Inderwildi urge the Government to impose higher taxes on drivers of large, inefficient vehicles and reinvest the money in better public transport and measures to get more people cycling and walking.
Dr Inderwildi said: "There is ample opportunity for emissions reductions by further improvements of currently available technology combined with a change in user habits."
Rather than rely on the manufacturers to provide the 'silver bullet' solution to cut transport emissions, the report recommends behavioural change, urging consumers to influence manufacturers through their buying power. Manufacturers are more likely to produce smaller vehicles if customers opt not to buy larger, heavier vehicles with higher carbon emissions.
Related Links
< Back to news list