Intelligent Transport Greener Future 2025

Introduction Transportation is not on track to meet the 1.5°C target of the Paris Agreement. AI-powered tools can help the sector reduce its projected 5.5Gt emissions gap by 2050. Transportation is a major source of global emissions.1 However, many technologies for reducing these emissions – sustainable aviation fuels or electrified trucking fleets, for example – are not yet available at scale. At the same time, trends show that even with current decarbonization policies and action plans, the world is not on track to meet the 1.5°C target of the Paris Agreement, with a projected 5.5 billion tonne (Gt) emissions gap for the transportation sector by 2050 (see Figure 1).2 To close this gap, the transportation industry needs to reduce emissions by 3% annually, signalling the need for solutions that deliver immediate reductions, alongside steps towards deep decarbonization in the long term. Carbon dioxide emissions for the transportation sector (Gt) FIGURE 1 8GtCO2CO2 emissions (Gt) for the transportation sector 6 4 2 0 2020 2050 2040 2030~5.5Gt gap to target IPCC 1.5°C-alignedTo get on track towards net-zero CO2 emissions by 2050, emissions from the transportation sector need to fall by more than 3% per year. Half of the industry’s emissions can be linked to the freight segment. Current ambition, assumes policies and actions to decarbonize transport continue along their current pathway Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) target, emission levels needed to limit warming to 1.5˚C Source: International Transport Forum.3 The transportation sector is responsible for 16-25% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.4 Freight logistics – the global transportation of goods or cargo by road, sea, air and rail – accounts for nearly half the sector’s emissions, contributing 7-8% to global emissions.5 Innovations and efficiency interventions in freight logistics could simultaneously decrease emissions and save costs. While a growing portion of transportation companies included in the scope of this paper (namely freight logistics, commercial aviation and passenger rail) have set near-term emission reduction targets, a recent survey suggests that 75% of global shippers and providers either lack clear decarbonization goals or doubt their ability to meet them.6 AI-powered tools can help to set better goals, prioritize actions and enhance tracking and reporting of progress. 75% of global shippers and providers either lack clear decarbonization goals or doubt their ability to meet them. Intelligent Transport, Greener Future: AI as a Catalyst to Decarbonize Global Logistics 7