AUTHOR=Styring Peter , Duckworth Emily L. , Platt Edward G. 

TITLE=Synthetic Fuels in a Transport Transition: Fuels to Prevent a Transport Underclass

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Energy Research

VOLUME=Volume 9 - 2021

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/energy-research/articles/10.3389/fenrg.2021.707867

DOI=10.3389/fenrg.2021.707867

ISSN=2296-598X

ABSTRACT=The Paris Agreement set policy scenarios to address mitigating against the climate emergency, by reducing greenhouse gas emissions to limit temperature increase to 1.5 °C. There has been a drive towards electrifying transport with battery electric vehicles (BEVs) at the forefront. Reliance on single technology policy development can lead to consequential impacts, often not considered or dismissed. Energy cannot be created or destroyed but can be transformed. While BEVs may represent zero tailpipe emissions, the battery energy must be sourced elsewhere. An ideal policy scenario will come from ‘renewable’ sources, however current global energy mixes require the electricity will come from carbon-burning point source emitters. Therefore, the emissions are deferred to low socio-economic regions. The move to ban new internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle sales has been accelerated. High BEV costs will preclude low-income groups from making purchases. Such groups typically rely on used cars for mobility. Without considered consequential policy analysis, transport underclasses may result where private transport is only accessible by the wealthy. Synthetic fuels derived from CO2 represent a social bridge in the energy transition, also helping to accelerate towards net zero.

	The Covid-19 lockdown provided a unique opportunity to experience an environment with reduced transport-related emissions. Global studies allowed the consequential effects of pollution reduction to be studied. These are surprising and offer the opportunity for policies, driven by science, to be developed. Here we consider the consequential effects of clean air policies, and how these can be used to propose dynamic responses to policy recommendations.