Advancing Methods to Evaluate Greenhouse Gas Emissions During Transportation Decision Making and Performance Management

New federal and state requirements increasingly tie greenhouse gas (GHG) evaluation to transportation decision-making. The Carbon Reduction Program, established under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, requires state departments of transportation (DOTs) and metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) to develop carbon reduction strategies to support the reduction of transportation emissions. The Federal Highway Administration promulgated a GHG Transportation Performance Management measure that would require state DOTs and MPOs to set decreasing targets for transportation emissions on the National Highway System. In addition, a growing number of states, including Colorado and Minnesota, have adopted planning standards that require DOTs and MPOs to evaluate and reduce GHG emissions from transportation projects. These programming changes occur within the context of an evolving transportation field, adapting to technological trends such as the deployment of artificial intelligence and the increasing availability of big data-driven models. Recent research efforts including NCHRP WebResource 1: Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions: A Guide for State DOTs and NCHRP WebResource 3: GHG Emissions and Climate Change in Environmental Reviews have examined GHG emissions practices at the planning and environmental review stages. Research is needed to understand the current deployment of tools as related to the effects of transportation investments on GHG emissions and the capabilities and limitations of these tools to develop recommendations for improvement and provide suggestions for new tools. OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this project are to develop (1) a guide to help DOTs and MPOs to evaluate the capabilities and limitations of existing tools for estimating the effects of transportation investments on GHG emissions and (2) a research roadmap providing recommendations to advance the state of the practice.

• Record URL:
  http://apps.trb.org/cmsfeed/TRBNetProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=5710

Language

• English

Project

• Funding: $300000
• Contract Numbers:

  Project 25-74

• Sponsor Organizations:

  National Cooperative Highway Research Program

  Transportation Research Board
  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001

  American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO)

  444 North Capitol Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001

  Federal Highway Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Project Managers:

  Brooks, Michael

• Start Date: 20241119
• Expected Completion Date: 0
• Actual Completion Date: 0

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Decision making; Environmental impacts; Greenhouse gases; State departments of transportation; Transportation planning
• Subject Areas: Environment; Planning and Forecasting; Transportation (General);

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01919241
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Transportation Research Board
• Contract Numbers: Project 25-74
• Files: TRB, RIP
• Created Date: May 21 2024 4:48PM