Abstract:

The 12 insights contained in this report outline the steps Germany will need to take to accomplish this transformation. They offer less a finished strategy than a map and compass for future work – a map, because they describe the fields and topics that must be navigated on the way to developing a sustainable transport sector; and a compass, because they point to the ultimate destination: namely, the elimination of fossil fuels by 2050. The “transport transformation” involves much more than switching to clean energy in the transport sector by adopting electric vehicles. If it is to succeed, it must be accompanied by changes in the transport system and in people’s travel behaviour. As such, public acceptance may well play a bigger role than the nuts and bolts of decarbonisation. Indeed, the transformation of the transport sector will set in motion structural changes that are far more complicated than those associated with the clean-energy transition in the power sector. That’s why it requires the support of government and the population at large. Right now, it seems, important stakeholders still need convincing.