30 April 2014: Fuel economy improvements can deliver US$2 trillion in savings over the next decade and stabilize global fuel demand by 2050, according to the Global Fuel Economy Initiative (GFEI). The Initiative warns, however, that these gains will be lost without a global commitment, and it urges adoption of fuel efficiency targets in the UN post-2015 development agenda.

GFEI highlights specific targets in its brief on ‘Fuel Economy and the UN’s Post 2015 Sustainable Development Goals,’ namely a doubling of the global rate of improvement of energy efficiency in transport by 2030, and a 50% improvement in the average fuel economy of all cars by 2050. The brief underscores support for fuel economy targets from prominent bodies, including the UN Sustainable Energy for All Initiative (SE4ALL) and the UN High-level Panel on the Post-2015 Development Agenda (HLP).

GFEI is a partnership among the International Energy Agency (IEA), International Transport Forum (ITF), FIA Foundation, International Council for Clean Transportation (ICCT), Institute for Transportation Studies, and UN Environment Programme (UNEP). The GFEI seeks to deliver effective fuel economy policies in over 25 countries, with support from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the EU. [Publication: Fuel Economy and the UN’s Post 2015 Sustainable Development Goals]