Transport sector energy use and carbon emissions: a study on sectoral fiscal policies

As the energy sector worldwide is largely based on fossil fuel consumption, the amount of global-scale carbon emissions continues to increase over the years. One of the most important reasons for the increase in emissions, the transportation sector, continues to develop with globalization. The development of land, sea, and air transport together with international trade brings environmental problems in parallel with the increase in energy consumption. Accordingly, it is estimated that one fourth of total carbon emissions today originate from the transportation sector. In this context, in order to combat environmental problems such as global warming and climate change on an international scale, initiatives such as the Paris Climate Agreement are being implemented and environmental policies to reduce the amount of emissions are being recommended. The aim of this study is to examine environmental policies, which have been discussed extensively in the literature, in terms of fiscal policy. In this context, fiscal policy tools such as taxes, subsidies, incentives, and regulations specific to the transport sector were discussed. This study, in which the descriptive method is used, argues that fiscal policy practices can be an effective method in reducing the amount of carbon emissions.