Decarbonising the Road Transport Sector: Breakeven Point and Consequent Potential Consumers’ Behaviour for the US case

A breakeven analysis of low carbon vehicle/fuel systems is conducted for the US for the year 2020, taking into consideration both private and external costs. All comparisons are made with respect to the conventional gasoline car as the baseline. Interestingly, the social cost of carbon prevailing in the literature is not high enough to justify the prioritization of low carbon vehicle/fuel technologies and the only way forward if such a track were to be chosen would be a political decision not necessarily grounded on economic principles. Nonetheless potential policies for the most financially viable alternative vehicle/fuel systems are considered.