Decarbonizing road transport: A systematic literature review based on use case analysis

Abstract

Road transport is the largest contributor to carbon emissions among all modes of transportation, prompting significant efforts by governments, organizations, society, and NGOs to mitigate these emissions. The study focuses on cases to identify successful strategies and methods for curbing road transport emissions. It aims to provide an integrated solution for road transport emissions by highlighting the role of different stakeholders. The study employs the Systematic Literature Review (SLR) method following the PRISMA guidelines to achieve the research objectives. A thorough search was conducted in the Scopus database using relevant keywords and the analysis was carried out on 43 selected articles. The key findings of the study highlight several critical solutions for advancing decarbonization, including Mobility as a Service (MaaS), sustainable mobility, technological integration with AI/ML techniques, infrastructure upgrades, and the promotion of multi-modal transportation. The research has certain limitations, such as the need for an expanded database, better sub-categorization within the road transport sector, targeted emission mitigation for individual sub-sectors, and the inclusion of other categories, like railways, within the broader framework of land-based transportation. The study’s novelty lies in a novel and comprehensive framework called ‘Road Transport Decarbonization’ (RTD). RTD emphasizes that achieving decarbonization requires collaborative efforts from society, industry, and policymakers, offering guidance to each stakeholder. Additionally, the study enriches the literature by identifying research gaps and proposing future research questions across various contexts, including policy development, social behavior, technological advancements, and urban transportation.