Policymakers Must Confront Transport 'Taboos' to Meet Climate Goals

Politicians need to address norms or taboos related to how people travel, and not just rely on technology improvements, in order to meet their carbon reduction goals for the transportation sector, according to a report released today.

"Basically, transport taboos are issues that are barriers to the implementation of sustainable transport policy, but they don't want to be touched by policymakers because they constitute a political risk," said Scott Cohen, senior lecturer at the University of Surrey in the United Kingdom and co-author on the report. "They're hot potatoes."

"One of the key ideas behind it is if you violate a taboo, you're basically violating a social norm, so you open yourself up to punishment by peers, powerful organizations and even the broader public, so it can hurt you at the ballot box," he added.

Inaction has serious implications for the climate.  Transport currently accounts for 30 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in Europe. It's also the fastest-growing source of emissions relative to other sources.

Globally, the number of passenger cars is expected to double by 2025 and the amount of air travel is expected to triple by 2050.  According to the United Nations' fifth assessment report on mitigation of climate change, without further action, transportation emissions could double by midcentury.

New technologies such as biofuels, efficient engines and aerodynamic designs will play an important role in reducing damaging emissions from vehicles across the transport sector. But technological innovation alone won't reduce carbon emissions to sustainable levels, and policymakers also need to address transport taboos.

Policymakers Must Confront Transport 'Taboos' to Meet Climate Goals -- Report