WASHINGTON - April 12, 2021 - $ 620 billion of Biden's American Jobs Plan go into transport and mobility. These investments include a $174 billion stimulus for the electric vehicle (EV) market such as subsidies for car manufacturers building EV plants or charging stations as well as tax reliefs for EV buyers. $115 billion road investment will focus on maintaining existing roads acknowledging the existence of "induced demand", the theory that building more roads leads to increased levels of road traffic. $85 billion are supposed to modernize public transit such as electrifying buses while $80 billion go into passenger and freight rail service. Additional $25 billion are invested in airports and multimodal, car-free access to air travel. $17 billion are sustainable investments in inland waterways and coastal ports.
The American Jobs Plan – being a great example for sustainable transport of the future – is in stark contrast to recent government interference in Europe (e.g. France) where domestic flights will be restricted. The French government action is aiming at reducing carbon dioxide emissions in transportation to limit climate change and global warming. But just as with numerous other initiatives such as speed limits, prohibiting domestic flights doesn't have measurable impact on greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide.
The recently published book "Enlightened Mobility" takes these facts as a starting point to outline the strategies that do not only serve as symbolic acts but effectively reduce carbon emissions drastically. A major lever considered is technology and innovation. In transportation and mobility, climate-neutral technologies are battery technology for electric cars, hydrogen-based fuel cells for trucks and aircrafts or alternative fuels for conventional cars with internal combustion engine. This does also include the full electrification of public transport such as electric buses or hydrogen trains. At the same time, digitalization helps to push multi-modal mobility and increase shared modes such as car and ride sharing.
This approach requires future technologies not only to be carbon-neutral but also economically beneficial. The economic argument is key since it ensures that major emitting industry nations and emerging countries are following the (mostly Western) decarbonization approach. Even if they only do so to save cost. Following this strategy makes climate protection a global effort in which money is invested where the impact on carbon dioxide reduction for each Dollar spent is the highest. To outline the most beneficial strategies in climate protection, the author follows a fact-based approach relying on his experience from 15 years of consulting in the mobility and transportation field.
About Enlightened Mobility
ENLIGHTENED MOBILITY: How we can surpass symbolic climate action & make transport carbon-free
Published by BookLocker.com, Inc., St. Petersburg, Florida.
https://booklocker.com/books/11678.html
Print ISBN: 978-1-64719-404-8
Epub ISBN: 978-1-64719-405-5
Mobi ISBN: 978-1-64719-406-2
About the Author
Andreas Schneider is an expert, speaker and consultant in digital mobility. He holds a Doctorate in Strategic Management from TU Clausthal and Master's degrees from Stuttgart University and Montpellier Business School. In his doctorate thesis on electric mobility, he explored innovative mobility business models. He is based in Berlin and is running the mobility blog https://neuemobilitaet.org/.
Contact
Dr. Andreas Schneider
andreas@neuemobilitaet.org
