Modal shift, emission reductions and behavioral change: Transport policies and innovations to tackle climate change

Transport is one of the main contributors to climate change, requiring a shift in the current trends and mobility habits (Chapman, 2007). Business as usual scenarios are no longer acceptable, while disruptive future scenarios should be encouraged to tackle the evergrowing transport challenges (Hickman & Banister, 2014). Policymaking is fundamental to reverse unsustainable trends, fostering modal shift, emission reductions and behavioral change. Modal shift is needed to move people (and freight) from polluting, often private, vehicles to sustainable transport modes, in accordance with the “shift strategies” of the so-called ASI approach, i.e. avoid (unnecessary trips), shift (trips from unsustainable to sustainable modes), and improve (the environmental performance of transport through technological improvements) (Bakker, Zuidgeest, De Coninck, & Huizenga, 2014). In relation to this, emission reductions can be fostered by acting on the three ASI legs at the same time, reducing the total transport energy required (Inturri et al., 2018). Besides, behavior change is an important aspect policy-makers should focus on to boost success probability of the strategies adopted, leading to modal shift and emission reductions (Gatta, Marcucci, & Le Pira, 2017). This applies both to passenger and freight transport. The latter is more complex since it involves more stakeholders, belonging to the public and private domain, often characterized by contrasting interests (Gatta & Marcucci, 2014). In this context, an effective approach should be focused on predictions (Marcucci & Gatta, 2016), acceptability (Le Pira et al., 2017a), and cooperation (Marcucci, Gatta, Marciani, & Cossu, 2017). The scope of this special issue is to promote the diffusion of new knowledge and insights in the field of transport policies and innovations aimed at tackling climate change, focusing on modal shift, emission reductions and behavioral change. Methodological contributions, as well as relevant case studies, provide an improved understanding of policy assessment tools and promising transport innovations capable of influencing policy-makers’ decisions and modifying agents' behaviors.