A recent study by the London School of Economics (LSE) and Grantham institute on climate change and the environment was published in June 2015 with the objective of compiling climate change-relevant legislation in the world in one easily accessible database for legislators, researchers and policy-makers. The 2015 Global Climate Legislation study edition covers 98 countries plus the EU, up from 66 countries in 2014, which together account for 93%of global greenhouse gas emissions.

The Partnership on Sustainable, Low Carbon Transport (SLoCaT) has conducted an analysis of the transport attributes of the study and has created a database focusing on the relevant transport legislation and their corresponding emissions targets. Of the 98 countries represented in the study, SLoCaT found a promising list of 47 transport-related policies. 

The transport legislation database shows that transport-specific policies are abundant in scope, ranging from direct policies relating to biofuel concentrations in fossil transportation fuels to overarching policies concerning peak hour traffic control (e.g. Singapore’s policy to promote public transport at peak hours). Few countries had policies adopted before the Kyoto Protocol, and all countries had progressive policies mostly created in the last ten years. Time frame of targets also range from short to long term. For example, the National Climate Change Strategy in Vietnam envisages a complete domestic and international system to meet societal needs by 2050. Argentina ‘s 2006 legislation ensures all vehicles must use at least 5% bio-fuel by 2010. 

Other common approaches that nearly all countries are committed to are increasing the efficiency of transport fuel and/or replacing inefficient vehicles fuels completely. For example, Iran’s Budget Laws of 2003/4 would phase out cars and replace vehicle fuels with CNG or hybrid fuels with an increase replacement rate of 2.5% in 2007. The target was further envisaged to 25% by 2025 with a progressive increase of 1.25% per year.

For the full text of the LSE-Study please click here.

For SLoCaT Partnership’s database on Transport Legislation, please download the Excel document.

SLoCaT has also released an Analysis of Transport Emission Trends to illustrate national and regional trends in transport related CO2 emissions. For more information, please go to here.