A study by researchers at Tsinghua University in China has concluded that the overall impact of autonomous vehicle deployment on greenhouse gas emissions is not significant in the near-to mid-term. In the study, published in the journal Energy Policy , the researchers found that autonomous vehicles potentially affect the total greenhouse gas emissions in multiple ways, including reducing vehicle ownership, increasing vehicle use intensity, and changing the vehicle fuel consumption rate. These impacts are mostly internally offset—thus resulting in insignificant impact in the near-to mid-term. In their study, the researchers used China’s passenger vehicle fleet as an example for evaluating the effects of autonomous vehicle deployment on greenhouse gas emissions in different scenarios of autonomous vehicle penetration rates and fuel consumption changes. They conducted a comprehensive literature review to support the study. Sensitivity analysis of the changes in the fully AV VMTs, AV fuel consumption rates and GHG emissions. […]