FEATURE ARTICLE

May 2009

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Putting the Transportation Sector on a Low-Carbon Diet: California’s Experience with Developing a Low Carbon Fuel Standard

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the transportation sector contributes 28 percent of the United States’ greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, an amount steadily increasing over the last decade. However, the nature of the transportation sector, with its diffuse mobile sources, makes formulating a comprehensive GHG emissions reduction strategy challenging. GHG emissions from transportation are a function of three variables: transportation demand, vehicle efficiency, and the carbon content of fuels; reductions come from altering one or more of these variables. Investments in public transport or smart growth policies to change driving behaviors can lower demand, while more stringent corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards can improve efficiency. A low carbon fuel standard (LCFS), setting reduction requirements on the carbon value of fuels, focuses on the last of these three variables.