Lower CO2 transport

Transport will continue to rely mainly on oil for many years to come. Reductions in GHG emissions in the transport sector will need to come mainly from blending biofuels into petrol and diesel, from technologies to improve the fuel efficiency of conventional fuels and vehicles, and from managing demand. Government policies that reward lower CO2 technology will be critical for success.

We are helping customers reduce their transport emissions by:

Taking a responsible approach to biofuels

We are one of the world’s leading distributors of today’s transport biofuels. They are made from crops such as corn, sugar and rapeseed and though typically more expensive than gasoline or petrol, they can be blended with conventional fuels and reduce dependence on oil. Because the plants used in biofuels absorb CO2 as they grow, they can have lower overall carbon emissions, despite the extra energy required to harvest and process them.

A number of governments are giving biofuels a big push with subsidies, targets and mandates. For their efforts to succeed more technologically advanced biofuels, based on agricultural waste, will be needed. This is because today’s first-generation biofuels may compete with food crops for land, and because the CO2 reductions they achieve are sometimes limited due to the fact that they require so much energy to produce.

We are addressing these challenges by investing in second-generation biofuels, for example through our partnerships with Choren - opens in a new window and  Iogen - opens in a new window and by developing codes of conduct for the sustainable sourcing of biofuels.

Visit  www.shell.com/biofuels for more information on Biofuels.

Upgrading our refineries

We continue to upgrade our refineries to produce lower sulphur petrol and diesel. These fuels not only help reduce local air pollution they also allow car makers to roll out more fuel-efficient (hence less CO2 emitting) engines.

Improving fuel efficiency

Our new Fuel Economy formula, available in 19 countries, reduces fuel consumption at no extra cost for drivers.

In 2006, the Shell Fuel Economy World Record Challenge winners set the world record for fuel efficiency, using a version of this fuel and fuel efficient driving techniques. Visit our Media Centre and discover how John and Helen Taylor set the record.

Every year we host the Shell Eco-marathon contest in Europe (and in 2007 in the USA) challenging students to design and build the most energy-efficient vehicle possible. In 2006, the contest was won by a car with average fuel efficiency of 2,885 km for the equivalent of one litre of fuel.

In 2005–2006 we ran Fuel Stretch Campaigns in 19 countries to help drivers use less fuel and reduce CO2 by teaching more efficient driving techniques.