Project Description

We propose to develop a multi-market analytical and simulation model to evaluate the costeffectiveness of alternative public policies that stimulate a faster adoption of cleaner technologies to reduce GHG emissions in the freight sector. Traditionally, the evaluation of the potential of alternative technologies for climate mitigation starts with simple lifecycle analysis (LCA) of the GHG emissions resulting from various technologies, including all phases of its production and use. However, it is becoming better understood that, if public policies that support the same technology result in different multi-market adjustments, and therefore GHG emissions impacts, per unit of the technology added to the economy, technology-based LCA metrics may result in estimates of emissions savings that are misleading (Bento and Klotz, 2014). Our proposed multi-market model overcomes these limitations by simultaneously considering the behavior of consumers, producers of final goods (including goods that require delivery and trucking costs), the freight sector, and the regulator/government that affects freight decisions through a variety of public policies. The multi-market nature of the model allows for capturing economy-wide GHG emissions that are generated whenever any of the agents in the model, directly or indirectly, adjusts their behavior in response to policies introduced in the freight sector that aimed to reduce GHG emissions in that sector.