Toolkits for Urban Transport Development - UNEP

Task 3-5 Technology Transitions
An understanding of vehicles, fuels and CO 2 emissions from electricity is essential to understanding
the implications of travel demand on CO 2 emissions and air quality (Task 3-6).
Vehicles and Fuels
The transport sector relies primarily on fossil fuels. The dependence on fossil fuels is linked to the
domination of internal combustion engine drive train technology on a global scale. In future, however,
multiple transitions may effect vehicles and associated infrastructures: i) a change in fuels due to
greater use of CNG, bio-fuels, and cleaner petrol and diesel; ii) more efficient engines; and iii) more
electricity for transportation such as metros and other rail based transit, as well as electric vehicles (2
wheelers, cars, etc.) for road transport.
The drivers behind these potential changes are a desire to address urban air quality issues and improve
energy security. For example, natural gas has been used as an option for improving air quality in
Indian cities, and as a result many cities have built fuelling infrastructures for compressed natural gas
(CNG). Bio ethanol blending in petrol is on-going and a 2% blend has already been achieved. By and
large, the fuel mix for transport is projected to be quite different between the base year and the future,
even in the BAU (Figure 4).
Figure 4. Fuel Mix for the BAU Scenario 27
27 Figure is from the Low Carbon City: A Guidebook for City Planners and Practitioners available at
http://www.unep.org/Transport/lowcarbon/Pdf's/LowCarbonCity_Guidebook.pdf. According to WEO 2012 by 2035
nearly 11% of energy demand from transport would be met by electricity, biofuels and other fuels (IEA, 2012).
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