Global Climate Change

The prospect of global warming caused by an increase in greenhouse gas emissions has become a major policy issue during the last two decades. The transportation sector is responsible for approximately one-quarter of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States and is expected to be one of the fastest growing sources of greenhouse gas emissions in the foreseeable future, due to increased demand for gasoline, jet fuel, and diesel fuel. In May 1999, the DOT Center for Climate Change and Environmental Forecasting was created to insure that these critical issues are addressed.

The Center is the focal point in the DOT of technical expertise on transportation and climate change. Through strategic research, policy analysis, partnerships and outreach, the Center creates comprehensive and multi-modal approaches to reduce transportation-related greenhouse gases. The Center advances timely and effective transportation initiatives to reduce greenhouse gases and preserve the transportation infrastructure. The Center develops and evaluates strategies, and promotes technologies, which encourage livable communities by fostering economic development, mobility, safety, and social equity.

The FHWA plays an integral role in Center activities and the selection of research projects. FHWA has also conducted research, separate from the Center, on climate change issues.

You can find more information on DOT's Center for Climate Change and Environmental Forecasting at the Center's web site.

You can find more information on FHWA climate change-related research at the following sites: