Recently the IEA published a Roadmap and Policy package. The primary purpose of roadmap is to help establish a vision for vehicle fuel economy, promote specific targets, and outline key steps to achieve them. The roadmap also outlines roles for different stakeholders and describes how they can work together to reach common objectives. Finally, it introduces key elements of policy, which are further explored in Policy Pathway: Improving the Fuel Economy of Road Vehicles
Improving the Fuel Economy of Road Vehicles proposes a policy pathway in four phases to support the development of policies to improve fuel efficiency of road vehicles. In particular, case studies of the EU passenger car CO2 emissions regulation and Japanese HDV fuel economy standards offer insights to the critical steps needed in implementing these kinds of policies. Every country setting has different policy contexts and political appetites for change, different infrastructure and vehicle stock dynamics.
Among sectors, transport represents the greatest challenge but also the greatest opportunity to improve energy efficiency. Road transport has the highest dependency on oil compared with any other sector, and therefore, any improvements in energy efficiency can deliver great benefits in terms of increased energy security, economic performance, mobility for citizens and reduced carbon emissions.
The step-by-step guide and case studies of policies to improve the fuel economy of road vehicles has been developed for policymakers seeking to discover the lessons learned from other countries around the world in fuel economy policy making. It provides information and key steps for the development and effective implementation of policies to improve the fuel economy of road vehicles.
The Policy Pathway series aims to assist policy makers with implementation of the 25 IEA energy efficiency policy recommendations that were originally published and endorsed by G8 governments in 2008 and were updated and endorsed by IEA Ministers in 2011. These recommendations encourage governments to implement policies to capture the cost-effective energy-saving potential of energy efficiency measures across all sectors (IEA, 2011a). Five of these recommendations focus on policies to improve vehicle fuel efficiency and reduce fuel consumption from the transport sector.