Dive Brief:
Although state departments of transportation and metropolitan planning organizations have a vital role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions from transportation sources, the U.S. Government Accountability Office found inconsistent approaches on whether and how these agencies measure on-road vehicle GHG emissions.

In a report issued Thursday, the GAO found “a few examples among the selected state DOTs and MPOs that have targets for reducing on-road greenhouse gas emissions.”

Although most of the state DOTs and MPOs that GAO interviewed “agreed that calculating emissions is not all that difficult,” GAO Director of Physical Infrastructure Elizabeth Repko said on a Thursday podcast that some faced challenges related to staffing, availability of data and quantifying the results of investments to reduce emissions.