Changing Human Behavior

TRANSPORTATION: Changing human behavior is major factor in selling cleaner cars, curbing congestion (Friday, July 25, 2014)

Julia Pyper, E&E reporter

Henry Ford's vision to create cars "for the great multitude" has been far better received than anyone could have imagined.

More than a century since the Model T was introduced, global demand for personal vehicles is stronger than ever, particularly in the developing world, where people want cars for improved mobility and as status symbols. But as car culture spreads, vehicles are clogging up city streets and threatening the planet with harmful emissions.

Automakers have invested billions in lightweight materials and low-carbon fuels to drive down greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks. But these technological advances will mean little if consumers' desire to own large, powerful vehicles continues to grow.

And even if people do choose to buy cleaner cars, cities have only so much space to put them in. Congestion in and around cities will continue to worsen unless populations support policies that curb vehicle usage.

The International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fifth Assessment Working Group III report, released in April, recognized the need: "Behavior, lifestyle and culture have a considerable influence on energy use and associated emissions, with high mitigation potential in some sectors, in particular when complementing technological and structural change."

But according to Felix Creutzig, a professor at Technical University of Berlin and group leader of the IPCC report's transportation section, the academic community has yet to fully assess how lifestyles and behavioral elements are driving car use and has yet to measure people's willingness to change.

Can commuters be persuaded to willingly give up the freedom of personal mobility? Can a growing middle class be persuaded to downsize its vehicle purchases? Can some drivers be persuaded to pay more for driving so that people will drive less overall?

"I think that this is a gap, also in the literature, to comprehensively assess the effects of human behavior and what can be done about it," Creutzig said.

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