The US government has launched its National Blueprint for Transportation Decarbonization that aims to eliminate almost all transport emissions by 2050.
Developed by the US departments of energy, transportation, housing and urban development, and the Environmental Protection Agency, the transport decarbonisation plan identifies the deployment of zero emission vehicles and fuels as the most meaningful drivers to decarbonise the sector, including all modes of transporting people and goods by land, air and sea.
Jointly announced by US Secretary of Energy, the U.S. Secretary of Transportation, the US Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and the Environmental Protection Agency Administrator, the Blueprint offers a whole-of-government approach to addressing the climate crisis and meeting President Biden’s goals of a 100 per cent clean electrical grid by 2035 and net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
“Under the leadership of President Biden, the Environmental Protection Agency is working with our federal partners to aggressively reduce pollution that is harming people and our planet while saving families money at the same time,” said Michael S Regan, administrator US Environmental Protection Agency. “At EPA, our priority is to protect public health, especially in overburdened communities, while advancing the President’s ambitious climate agenda. This Blueprint is a step forward in delivering on those goals and accelerating the transition to a clean transportation future.”
The transportation sector accounts for a third of all US domestic greenhouse gas emissions. Transportation costs are the second largest annual household expense in the US and for the poorest Americans the financial burden is disproportionately and unsustainably high.
A well-planned transition to a transport decarbonisation system can address these and other inequities and provide equitable, affordable, and accessible options for moving people and goods. Further developing and deploying clean-energy technologies such as electric vehicles and hydrogen and sustainable fuels, while also building out the supporting infrastructure for clean transportation will create good-paying jobs across all segments of the transportation sector and strengthening America’s energy independence.
The Blueprint is a critical step in the ongoing partnership between DOE, DOT, EPA, HUD, and stakeholders and is a significant milestone on the path to realising an improved and sustainable transportation future.
The Blueprint offers a whole-of-government approach to transform the transportation sector and sets forth an interagency call to action to coordinate and work effectively together. Achieving the targets will require close cooperation with industry, local, regional, state, and tribal governments, non-profits, and other stakeholder groups, as well as allies around the world.
“Transportation policy is inseparable from housing and energy policy, and transportation accounts for a major share of US greenhouse gas emissions, so we must work together in an integrated way to confront the climate crisis,” said Pete Buttigieg, secretary US Department of Transportation. “Every decision about transportation is also an opportunity to build a cleaner, healthier, more prosperous future. When our air is cleaner; when more people can get good-paying jobs; when everyone stays connected to the resources they need and the people they love, we are all better off.”
