An action plan has been devised by the Global Fuel Economy Initiative (GFEI) aimed at achieving a 50 per cent improvement in fuel economy in the global light duty vehicle fleet by 2050.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) had estimated that emissions from the world’s cars will double between 2000 and 2050 taking into account the doubling or more of vehicle kilometres travelled combined with modest improvements in fuel economy. Currently cars account for nearly half of the transport sector’s fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.

GFEI expects technologies to arrive that will improve the efficiency of cars by 30 per cent by 2020 and 50 per cent by 2030. The efficiency of the global car fleet will improve by 50 per cent by 2050 mainly due to incremental change to conventional internal combustion engines and drive systems as well as better aerodynamics and weight reduction.

It notes that government intervention and pro-active industry action will be required to reach these targets because of consumer reluctance to demand these improvements. The GFEI suggests consumer demand is not there because many of the technologies used to improve fuel economy could instead be used to increase power; while the presence of risks such as fluctuating fuel prices mean manufacturers will not invest in new technology unless they are sure of selling cars that are equipped with it. 

In order to achieve the goal, governments will need to adopt a number of policy options such as fuel economy and CO2 emissions standards; vehicle taxes and incentives; fuel taxes; a world standard ‘eco-test’; labelling; and policy alignment.