Clean Transportation

The Clean Transportation program at the Union of Concerned Scientists includes scientists, engineers, policy specialists, and campaigners, working to transition the US transportation sector from the dirty technology and inequitable systems of the past to cleaner, modern mobility options that are affordable and accessible.

The program, which began in 1990, focuses on a range of transportation- and climate-related issues, including electric vehicles, fuel efficiency, cleaner fuel, new mobility models, and self-driving cars.

Highlights from the program’s work include research and advocacy for the federal fuel efficiency and global warming pollution standards—the most important climate change policy ever enacted in the United States.

We've also helped enact clean fuels programs in several states, and advanced model state policy, such as California’s groundbreaking Zero-Emissions Vehicle program, as well as their emissions requirements for ride-hailing companies and the Innovative Clean Transit rule.

The program’s experts regularly appear in national media, testify before Congress and state regulators, and provide impactful analysis and thought leadership.