Identifying and addressing barriers for the sustainable development of natural gas as automotive fuel

In recognition of the risks associated with climate change, governments around the world have tried to develop and define policies to address greenhouse gas emissions with transport recognized as one of major sources of greenhouse gases and air pollution. Apart from climate change, there is another side to this coin, and that is the risks surrounding energy security and future oil supplies. Vehicle manufacturers are increasingly recognizing their role in contributing to the goal of decarbonizing the economy and reduce dependence on oil. Out of available alternate fuels compressed natural gas (CNG) is the one which is meeting the maximum needs of countries worldwide, who want to switch over to alternate fuels. However, despite the fact that CNG are often seen as a panacea by policy-makers, there are a number of barriers to their widespread market penetration and diffusion. This study aims to identify an approach to strategic framework for addressing the barriers to widespread adoption of compressed natural gas as transportation fuel. Besides assessing the barriers to natural gas vehicles, the study attempts to identify how they can affect various stakeholders. The paper systematically examines natural gas vehicles (NGVs) adoption patterns and the evolution of pertinent market structures throughout the world but majorly concentrated on eleven countries:, China, Iran, Pakistan, Argentina, India, Brazil, Italy, United States, Germany, Sweden and South Korea. The underlying paper set out an objective of presentation of the framework for supporting policy makers in aspects including; identifying and assessing qualitative aspects of the barriers and consequently defining measures for their resolutions.