Beyond vehicle electrification: a global analysis of reported city actions to reduce car use

Abstract A transition to electric vehicles will reduce carbon emissions but risks leaving wider harms associated with car dependency unresolved. Using the Avoid-Shift-Improve (ASI) Framework to analyse Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) data we find a gap between global climate goals and local transport delivery. Of the 791 cities reporting to the CDP in 2022, 42% reported no transport actions and a further 13% reported only vehicle electrification (Improve) actions. We group cities according to reported number of Avoid or Shift (A-S) categories of action to reduce car use and ownership. Cities reporting across a higher number of A-S categories (High A-S) to avoid car trips and shift to sustainable modes were found more likely to have been awarded A-List status by the CDP for exceptional climate leadership. To explore the self-reported CDP data further we interviewed senior transport practitioners working in 16 cities across high, medium and low A-S categories. Insights from interviews suggest that policy stability, political commitment to climate action and public engagement support implementation of more car reduction measures. Officers in High A-S cities associate successful implementation with durable sustainable transport policies and communication of the co-benefits of reducing car use. In contrast, officers in Low A-S cities describe challenges with policy volatility, lack of resources for engagement, and single benefit framing e.g. to address air pollution or congestion. These findings suggest that reducing car dependency in cities requires more than technological substitution and may depend on institutional capacity, policy continuity and public engagement.