Global Pathways to Net-Zero
Behavioral, Social, and Technological Research
and Innovation Strategies for Transportation
Decarbonization
Summary of the Seventh EU-U.S. Transportation
Research Symposium
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Katherine F. Turnbull, Rapporteur
Organized by the
Coordination and Support Action
SYMPEUS
European Commission
Transportation Research Board
U.S. Department of Transportation
Proceedings of a Symposium
NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS 500 Fifth Street, NW Washington, DC 20001
This activity was supported by a contract between the National Academy of Sciences and the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology of the U.S. Department of Transportation. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of any organization or agency that provided support for the project.
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Suggested citation: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2024. Global Pathways to Net-Zero: Behavioral, Social, and Technological Research and Innovation Strategies for Transportation Decarbonization: Summary of the Seventh EU-U.S. Transportation Research Symposium: Proceedings of a Symposium. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/28192.
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PLANNING COMMITTEE AND TOPIC EXPERTS FOR THE SEVENTH EU-U.S. TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM
CHRIS T. HENDRICKSON (NAE) (Co-Chair), Professor Emeritus, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University
GEREON MEYER (Co-Chair), Head of the Department, European and International Business Development, VDI/VDE Innovation + Technik GmbH
TASMAN CROWE, Professor and Vice-President for Sustainability, University College Dublin, Ireland
PATRICIA “PATY” ROMERO-LANKAO, Professor and Canada Excellence Research Chair in Sustainability Transitions, Department of Sociology, University of Toronto
TIMOTHY SEXTON, Director of Public Works, City of Minneapolis
MARGRIET VAN SCHIJNDEL-DE NOOIJ, Program Director of Smart Mobility, Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands
KAREN VANCLUYSEN, Secretary General, POLIS Network
HENG WEI, Professor, Civil and Architectural Engineering and Construction Management, University of Cincinnati
Liaisons, European Commission
JANE AMILHAT, Head of Clean Transport Transitions, European Commission’s Directorate-General for Research and Innovation
MARIA CARBONE, Principal Administrator, Innovation and Research Unit, European Commission’s Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport
TORSTEN KLIMKE, Head of Innovation and Research, European Commission’s Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport
PATRICK MERCIER-HANDISYDE, Principal Administrator, Future Urban and Mobility Systems Unit, European Commission’s Directorate-General for Research and Innovation
Liaisons, SYMPEUS Project1
CAROLINE ALMERAS, Secretary General, European Conference of Transport Research Institutes
GEREON MEYER, Head of the Department, European and International Business Development, VDI/VDE Innovation + Technik GmbH
INGRID SKOGSMO, Senior Research Leader for Future Mobility, Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute, and President, European Conference of Transport Research Institutes
Liaisons, U.S. Department of Transportation, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology
ALASDAIR CAIN, Director of Research, Development, and Technology Coordination
GRETCHEN GOLDMAN, Climate Change Research and Technology Director
FIRAS IBRAHIM, Director, Office of Research, Development, and Technology
Transportation Research Board Staff
BRITTANY P. BISHOP, Program Officer, Consensus and Advisory Studies
THOMAS MENZIES, Director, Consensus and Advisory Studies
VICTORIA SHEEHAN, Executive Director
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1 The SYMPEUS project is a Coordination and Support Action funded by the European Commission coordinated by VTI, and involving ECTRI and VDI/VDE-IT, which aims to support the overall organization of the EU-U.S. symposium series from the European side.
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Reviewers
This Proceedings of a Symposium was reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in making the published proceedings as sound as possible and to ensure that it meets the institutional standards for quality, objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the process.
We thank the following individuals for their review of this proceedings:
GEREON MEYER, VDI/VDE Innovation + Technik GmbH
BENJAMIN SOVACOOL, Boston University
TRB also thanks National Academies’ staff reader Rebecca DeBoer.
Although the reviewers listed above provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the contents of the proceedings nor did they did see the final draft before its release. The review of this proceedings was overseen by NURIA FERNANDEZ (NAE), Federal Transit Administration (retired). She was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this proceedings was carried out in accordance with standards of the National Academies and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content rests entirely with the rapporteur and the institution.
The planning committee thanks Katherine F. Turnbull for her work in preparing this proceedings.
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Contents
Welcome from the Transportation Research Board
Welcome from the U.S. Department of Transportation
Welcome from the European Commission
Opening Comments from the Symposium Co-Chairs
Presentation of the Symposium White Paper
Presentation of Exploratory Topics
DAY 2: RELEVANT U.S. POLICIES, PROGRAMMING, AND COLLABORATION
Relevant U.S. Policies, Programming, and Collaboration
Relevant EU Policies, Programming, and Collaboration: Regulation and Technology Deployment
Relevant EU Policies, Programming, and Collaboration: Research and Planning
EXPLORATORY TOPICS: RESEARCH NEEDS AND FUTURE INNOVATION FOR EU-U.S. COLLABORATION
Exploratory Topics on Research Needs and Potential EU-U.S. Collaboration Opportunities
RESEARCH AND INNOVATION COLLABORATION PATHWAYS: PROGRAMMING AND POLICY
Research and Innovation Collaboration Pathways: Policy-Level Strategies, Instruments, and Tools
Preface
This proceedings summarizes Global Pathways to Net-Zero: Behavioral, Social, and Technological Research and Innovation (R&I) Strategies for Transportation Decarbonization, a symposium held June 11–12, 2024, at the National Academy of Sciences Building in Washington, DC. Hosted by the U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT), the European Commission (EC), and the Transportation Research Board (TRB) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, it was the seventh annual symposium sponsored by the European Commission and the United States. The goals of these symposia are to promote common understanding, efficiencies, and transatlantic cooperation within the international transportation research community while accelerating transport-sector innovation in the European Union (EU) and the United States.
The 2-day, invitation-only symposium brought together high-level experts to share their views on decarbonizing the transport sector. With the goal of fostering transatlantic collaboration in research and deployment, symposium participants discussed policies, programs, and innovative approaches for decarbonizing the transport sector.
A bilateral planning committee organized and developed the symposium program. Chris Hendrickson from Carnegie Mellon University and Gereon Meyer from VDI/VDE Innovation + Technik GmbH served as the co-chairs of the planning committee. The planning committee members provided expertise in public road and transit systems, freight, advanced technologies, clean fuels, electrification, land use and transport planning, and social science.
The planning committee noted that decarbonization is a global challenge and that international cooperation is essential for nations and regions across the world to be successful in meeting shared decarbonization goals. As world leaders move toward net-zero emission economies, the European Union and the United States will need to work closely together to meet decarbonization goals, in addition to setting an example for the rest of the world to follow. With the transportation sector being a leading source of emissions, it is essential that immediate steps are taken to decarbonize transportation and to continue to invest in the research needed for our decarbonization commitments to be met.
The climate crisis poses a threat to life on the planet, with human health, ecosystem, and economic impacts globally. These impacts are projected to worsen in the future, as greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions continue to rise and warming to date continues to produce adverse effects.1 For example, in 2022 alone the United States
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1 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Climate Change 2023: Synthesis Report. Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Geneva, Switzerland, 2023, https://www.ipcc.ch/report/sixth-assessment-report-cycle.
experienced 18 separate billion-dollar weather and climate disasters, totaling $165.1 billion (€150.5 billion).2 In the European Union, the economic losses and human suffering stemming from the more frequent climate-related extreme events, such as floods, droughts, and forest fires, already average more than €12 billion per year.3
Reducing GHG emissions is needed to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. Transportation is a significant proportion of GHG emissions globally. The transportation sector accounts for one-third of all GHG emissions in the United States, and nearly one-quarter in the European Union.4 Thus, prioritizing decarbonization of the transportation sector to reduce GHG emissions overall is important.5
The planning committee was responsible for organizing the symposium, identifying speakers, commissioning a white paper, and developing the exploratory topic papers to facilitate discussion at the symposium. The white paper is provided in Appendix A, and the exploratory topic papers are presented in Appendixes B through F.
The exploratory topic papers addressed accelerating the transition to electrification and alternative fuels; ensuring a just transition to net-zero transport; leveraging digitalization, artificial intelligence, and other integrated system-of-systems technologies to decarbonize transport; and implementing sustainable and resilient land use and transportation system design. The final exploratory topic paper focused on relevant policies, programming, and collaboration between the United States and the European Union. The papers were developed and presented by planning committee members to help frame discussions in the breakout groups, which focused on identifying research topics appropriate for EU and U.S. collaboration.
The symposium’s interactive format enabled ongoing input from the assembled experts. A copy of the symposium program is provided in Appendix G and the list of participants is provided in Appendix H. The symposium began with welcomes from sponsoring organizations and keynote presentations by Robert Hampshire and Ann Shikany from U.S. DOT. The white paper prepared for the symposium was also presented in the opening session by co-authors Kelly Fleming from the Federation of American Scientists and Gereon Meyer.
Members of the planning committee summarized the key elements of the first four exploratory papers on the opening day of the symposium. Participants discussed challenges and opportunities and potential research needs on the topics in breakout groups. Planning committee members summarized the key discussion points in a general session with participants providing additional feedback. On the second day, Gretchen Goldman from U.S. DOT and Torsten Klimke and Jane Amilhat from the European Commission provided a keynote presentation on Setting the Scene: Relevant U.S. and EU Policy, Programming, and Collaboration Considerations. Two general sessions followed with facilitated discussions on the fifth exploratory topic addressing potential transatlantic research and innovative programming-level and policy-level pathways.
The planning committee thanks the many individuals who contributed to the organization and preparation of the symposium, including topic experts and moderators, TRB staff, and liaisons from U.S. DOT, the European Commission, and the European Conference of Transport Research Institutes.
This proceedings, prepared by Katherine F. Turnbull of the Texas A&M Transportation Institute, the symposium rapporteur, is a compilation of the presentations and a factual summary of the ensuing discussions at the event. The planning committee was responsible solely for organizing the symposium, identifying speakers, and developing breakout session topics. The views contained in the proceedings are those of individual symposium participants and do not necessarily represent the views of all participants, the planning committee, TRB, U.S. DOT, the European Commission, or the National Academies.
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2 National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2023, https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/billions.
3 Joint Research Centre, Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation in Europe: JRC PESETA IV Final Report, edited by L. Feyen, J. Ciscar, S. Gosling, D. Ibarreta, and A. Soria, European Commission Publications Office, 2020, https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2760/171121.
4 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks, 2019, https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/inventory-us-greenhouse-gas-emissions-and-sinks; European Commission, Climate Action: Transport, https://climate.ec.europa.eu/eu-action/transport_en.
5 Long-Term Strategy of the United States: Pathways to Net-Zero Greenhouse Gas Emissions by 2050, U.S. Department of State and Executive Office of the President, 2021, https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/US-Long-Term-Strategy.pdf.
Acronyms and Abbreviations
| 2ZERO | Towards Zero Emission Road Transport |
| AI | artificial intelligence |
| AV | automated vehicle |
| BEV | battery electric vehicle |
| BIL | Bipartisan Infrastructure Law |
| CCAM | Connected, Cooperative, and Automated Mobility |
| CHIPS | Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors |
| EC | European Commission |
| EPA | U.S. Environmental Protection Agency |
| ERTRAC | European Road Transport Research Advisory Council |
| EU | European Union |
| EV | electric vehicle |
| FCEV | fuel cell electric vehicle |
| FHWA | Federal Highway Administration |
| GHG | greenhouse gas |
| HEV TCP | Hybrid and Electric Vehicle Technology Collaboration Program |
| ICE | internal combustion engine |
| IEA | International Energy Agency |
| IIJA | Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act |
| IRA | Inflation Reduction Act |
| LCFS | Low Carbon Fuel Standard |
| LDV | light-duty vehicle |
| MOU | Memorandum of Understanding |
| NAS | National Academy of Sciences |
| NEVI | National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure |
| NOx | nitrogen oxide |
| PHEV | plug-in hybrid electric vehicle |
| PM2.5 | particulate matter |
| RDT | Research, Development, and Technology |
| SAF | sustainable aviation fuel |
| SMART | Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation |
| STRIA | Strategic Transport Research and Innovation Agenda |
| SUV | sport utility vehicle |
| TEN-T | Trans-European Transport Network |
| TRA | Transport Research Arena |
| TRB | Transportation Research Board |
| U.S. | United States |
| U.S. DOE | U.S. Department of Energy |
| U.S. DOT | U.S. Department of Transportation |
| USDA | U.S. Department of Agriculture |
| UTC | University Transportation Center |
| ZEWT | Zero-Emission Waterborne Transport |
