Title

The role of fuel economy and GHG standards in reaching zero emissions by 2050

Time

1:40pm - 3:00pm

Location

Remote instruction

Abstract

Light-duty fuel economy and greenhouse gas standards have cost-effectively improved the energy efficiency and reduced the CO2 emissions of passenger cars and light trucks. Fuel economy improvements since 1975 have saved over two trillion gallons of gasoline, and the resulting net savings have had a progressive effect on household income. As a result, the standards have enjoyed strong public support for decades. This seminar addresses how that has been possible and what the role of fuel economy and GHG standards should be in achieving deep decarbonization of light-duty vehicle transportation by 2050.

Biographical Sketch

David Greene is a Senior Fellow of the Howard H. Baker, Jr. Center for Public Policy and a Research Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at The University of Tennessee. In 2013 he retired from Oak Ridge National Laboratory as a Corporate Fellow after a 36-year career researching transportation and energy policy issues. He is an author of 300 hundred professional publications including more than 100 articles in peer-reviewed journals. Dr. Greene has served on more than a dozen special committees of the National Academies and all five committees evaluating the fuel economy standards, including the current Committee for the Assessment of Technologies for Improving Fuel Economy of Light-Duty Vehicles. A member emeritus of the Transportation Research Board’s standing committees on Energy and Alternative Fuels, Dr. Greene is also a Lifetime National Associate of the National Academies and recipient of the Transportation Research Board’s 2012 Roy W. Crum Award. He was recognized by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for contributing to the award of the 2007 Noble Peace Prize to the IPCC. He holds a Ph.D. in Geography and Environmental Engineering from The Johns Hopkins University as well as degrees in Geography from the University of Oregon (MA) and Columbia University (BA).