Decarbonization and peak oil demand: The role of policy in the transportation sector

In a new report, Decarbonization and peak oil demand: The role of policy in the transportation sector, Robert Johnston, chief executive officer of the Eurasia Group and senior fellow with the Atlantic Council Global Energy Center, and Hilary Novik Sandberg, Eurasia Group Global Energy & Natural Resources analyst, examine the role of government policy in the transportation sector amidst international efforts to reduce carbon emissions and peak oil demand concerns. The report specifically focuses on the numerous policies and technological developments that have already been adopted or could be developed to aid the decarbonization of the transportation sector, as well as the reforms necessary to their widespread adoption.

Johnston and Novik Sandberg cover three sections of the policy portfolio in detail: passenger vehicles; commercial vehicles; and aviation, rail, and marine issues. Efforts to decarbonize these three sections of the transportation sector will significantly impact the future of oil demand, but the authors note that many challenges lie ahead. In the face of rapidly changing geopolitics and growing oil demand in regions such as Southeast Asia and China, they argue that it is important to ensure that countries do not backtrack on their emissions reductions promises.