To reduce emissions from China’s transport sector, one of the world’s largest emitters and economies, sustained innovation and transformation is needed in the way people move and consume energy. In recent years, China has introduced a series of policies and investments aimed at decarbonizing its transport industry across major cities, but overall, the industry is still lagging in its ability to effectively reduce emissions and mitigate pollution within its own national targets. By 2060, the target year for China’s carbon neutrality, the nation’s transport system may very well become one of the largest sources of energy-related emissions at current growth rates.
The reduction of emissions from private motor vehicles is a priority for the country’s mobility industry, and this starts with encouraging more ridership of public transport so that people take fewer car trips overall. To promote a larger cultural shift towards public transport will require, among many other strategies, that the country’s sector embraces new energy vehicles (electric, hybrid, and fuel-cell powered) as well as related technologies that move away from harmful and costly fossil fuel usage. China’s public transport systems need to seize the burgeoning opportunity to integrate with new energy innovations in order to meet climate targets while promoting both ridership and economic development.
The post In China, Public Transport Can Be at the Forefront of Energy Innovation first appeared on Institute for Transportation and Development Policy.
