The prospect for modal shifts in passenger transport worldwide and impacts on energy use and CO2

Travel statistics for most countries are subject to numerous uncertainties. But as presented in this paper, the IEA has developed a sufficient database to estimate passenger travel by mode for major countries and regions around the world, and produce consistent travel and energy use estimates, perhaps the first of their kind. For example, we estimate that in 2005 total global passenger travel using motorised modes was about 40 trillion kilometres, or about 6000 per person. The IEA has also developed a set of travel projections to 2050, including a Baseline and a "Modal Shift" scenario. This paper provides the result of this analysis and estimates the potential impacts on CO2 from a 25% reduction in car and air travel by 2050 relative to the Baseline in that year. The modelling effort and policy analysis used to support the findings are also described.

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Additional Info

Field Value
Source ISSN: 0301-4215
Author Cuenot, F, Fulton, L, Staub, J
Maintainer CCSD
Last Updated May 8, 2026, 02:18 (UTC)
Created May 8, 2026, 02:18 (UTC)
Identifier hal-00909543
Language en
contributor Département Economie et Sociologie des Transports (INRETS/DEST) ; Institut National de Recherche sur les Transports et leur Sécurité (INRETS)
creator Cuenot, F
date 2010-01-01T00:00:00
harvest_object_id 32ff9940-10f2-4cbc-b5b4-c0bdb433abec
harvest_source_id 3374d638-d20b-4672-ba96-a23232d55657
harvest_source_title test moissonnage SELUNE
metadata_modified 2026-02-07T00:00:00
relation info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1016/j.enpol.2010.07.017
set_spec type:ART