Speaker: Jonathan Rubin
Professor, Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center and School of Economics, UMaine
The use of energy in transportation continues to be one of the largest contributors to U.S. Green House Gas (GHG) emissions. The policy framework for transportation energy is rapidly evolving due to changes in federal fuel economy standards (CAFE regulations), renewable fuel mandates (ethanol and advanced biofuels), initiatives in California and Oregon to cap the carbon content of motor fuels and changes in US regulation of petroleum including the historic lifting of the ban on exports of US-produced oil. Transportation energy use is particularly complicated because of the need to coordinate the actions of vehicle manufacturers, fuel suppliers and vehicle purchasers (consumers). This talk will summarize trends in transportation energy use and discuss possible future paths and policy options.
Dr. Rubin is a Professor in the School of Economics and the Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center at the University of Maine. He specializes in the economics of energy, light-duty transportation, greenhouse gas emissions and alternative fuels. His research investigates low carbon transportation fuels, biofuel pathways, and the potential economic and environmental impacts from trading greenhouse gases and fuel efficiency credits for automobiles and light-duty trucks. He is the Chair of the Environment and Energy Section (ADC00) of US Transportation Research Board (TRB) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. From 2008-2014 he was the Chair of the Committee on Transportation Energy, TRB. He has been an advisory panel member, Airport Cooperative Research Program 02-56 (developing an airport business case for renewable energy), S02-02 (sustainable facilities and practices), and the National Cooperative Highway Research Program 25-35 (guidebook for designing and managing rights-of-way for carbon sequestration and biomass generation)