Low Carbon Transport Futures: How Acceptable are They?

Climate change is an internationally recognised problem. The transport sector in the UK is responsible for approximately 26% of the country’s CO2 emissions and this proportion is growing. If deep cuts in CO2 emissions are required to slow the pace of climate change then the transport sector will have to play a role. This paper firstly examines the CO2 reduction targets that might be applied to the transport sector and provides a justification for those targets. Secondly consideration is given to a range of different strategies that might enable the transport sector to achieve the targets. Finally the paper reports on results of a survey undertaken to explore the likely adaptation strategies of households in response to target reductions of 60% and examines the policies that are both likely to move society toward a low carbon transport future and are the most acceptable to households. The research reported in this paper are from a project funded by the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research exploring behavioural response and lifestyle change in moving to low carbon futures.