FHWA Activities
FHWA supports transportation and climate change research and disseminates the results, provides technical assistance to stakeholders, and coordinates its activities within U.S. DOT and with other Federal agencies. Click on the links below for more information.
Technical Assistance
- Modeling Assistance – The FHWA Resource Center Air Quality Technical Services Team can provide assistance with the use of existing and new models and tools to analyze GHG emissions, including a workshop on EPA's MOVES Model. For more information and contacts please refer to the FHWA Resource Center Air Quality Team web site at: http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/resourcecenter/teams/airquality/index.cfm.
Outreach/Education:
Intra-agency and Interagency Coordination:
- FHWA Working Group on Adaptation of Transportation Infrastructure to Climate Change Effects – FHWA has formed an internal working group to begin coordinating, leading and implementing agency activities on adaptation to address the various program, policy and technical challenges that the impacts of climate change will present to the transportation industry. For more information, contact Mike Culp (Michael.Culp@dot.gov or 202-366-9229).
- Interagency Working Group on Transportation, Land Use, and Climate Change – The Working Group, which is comprised of over 10 Federal agencies, was formed as a result of an interagency meeting of senior managers hosted by FHWA's Office of Planning, Environment, and Realty in June 2008. The senior managers explored partnership opportunities to address GHG emissions from transportation sources. A staff working group is expanding the discussion to include how GHGs can be reduced through better land use planning and travel demand management that would result in lower VMT. FHWA hosted a second senior manager meeting in December 2008. For more information, contact Diane Turchetta (Diane.Turchetta@dot.gov or 202-493-0158).
- USDOT Center for Climate Change and Environmental Forecasting – FHWA is a member of this multi-modal effort to research and evaluate transportation strategies to reduce GHGs and to prepare for the potential effects of climate change on transportation systems.
Ongoing/Current Research:
- Carbon Sequestration Pilot Program – FHWA has selected the New Mexico and Minnesota DOTs for a pilot program related to climate change. The goals of the program are 1) to develop successful strategies for sequestering carbon on rights-of-way and other lands managed by State DOTs through focused native vegetation management; 2) to determine whether revenue can be generated from the sale of "carbon credits" developed from these projects; and 3) to determine whether FHWA should pursue a national-level effort and provide relevant decision support tools to state DOTs. In addition, the NMDOT has undertaken research to collect information necessary for a protocol (i.e., accounting tool) that can be used for offset projects to quantify tons of carbon reduced. The pilot is scheduled for completion in 2013. For more information, contact Steve Earsom (Steve.Earsom@dot.gov or 202-366-2851).
- Evaluate How Land Use, Transportation Infrastructure, and Policy Changes Affect Travel Activity and GHG Emissions – The objective of this research is to develop analysis tools that will allow planners and policy makers in small to medium metropolitan areas evaluate how land use, transportation infrastructure, and policy changes affect travel activity and GHG emissions. The work is expected to be completed in the early to mid 2010 timeframe. For more information contact Supin Yoder (Supin.Yoder@dot.gov or 708-283-3554).
- Reducing Energy Usage through Transportation Planning for Megaregions – This research will produce tools to help transportation planners reduce the transportation system's energy consumption. Transportation and land use will be considered as a system with respect to energy consumption. The research will identify and refine organizational tools that can build planning capacity and enable planners from numerous MPOs to plan as a unit – a megaregion – and will produce a sketch planning computer tool to help planners implement the capacity-building and megaregion tools. The research results will help create a roadmap for implementing strategies to reduce transportation's energy demand on a megaregion scale. For more information, contact Rob Kafalenos (Robert.Kafalenos@dot.gov or 202-366-2079).
- Sustainability Evaluation and Planning Guidance for Transportation Systems – This research will focus on how to incorporate sustainability in transportation planning to address challenges facing the nation's transportation infrastructure including nonrenewable fuel depletion and the resulting energy insecurity, GHG emissions, global climate change, local air quality, fatalities and injuries, congestion, noise pollution, low mobility, ecosystem damage and lack of equity. For more information, contact Diane Turchetta (Diane.Turchetta@dot.gov or 202-493-0158).
- Transportation's Impact on Climate Change and Solutions – Report to Congress – The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2008, signed into law in December 2007, mandates that the US DOT produce a report to Congress on transportation's impact on climate change and solutions for reducing this impact. The study is also to consider co-benefits of fuel savings and air quality improvement. The report is to be completed in coordination with the US EPA and the US Global Change Research Program. FHWA is providing resources and technical expertise to the US DOT Climate Change Center in order to complete the report. For more information, contact Rob Kafalenos (Robert.Kafalenos@dot.gov or 202-366-2079) or John Davies (JohnG.Davies@dot.gov 202-366-6039).
- Travel Demand and Climate Change – Developing Effective Policy Approaches for Slowing VMT Growth – Through research and dialogue with pivotal stakeholders this project will help determine the extent to which new energy/GHG performance goals may complement or conflict with fundamental transportation system performance and inform the development of effective policy frameworks for slowing VMT growth and reducing GHG emissions. For more information, contact Diane Turchetta (Diane.Turchetta@dot.gov or 202-493-0158).
