Climate Transitions under Economic Constraints: Energy, Growth, and Inequality

Climate change is reshaping the way mobility systems are designed, managed, and governed. Increasing regulatory pressure, changing consumer expectations, technological innovation, and climate-related disruptions are pushing the transport sector toward more sustainable pathways. Aviation, logistics, urban mobility, and public transportation are facing growing demands to reduce emissions, improve energy efficiency, adopt cleaner technologies, and develop more resilient infrastructure. At the same time, digital transformation, artificial intelligence, smart systems, and new policy instruments are creating fresh opportunities for climate-responsive mobility. Despite this progress, important challenges remain regarding implementation, investment prioritization, policy coordination, and the balance between sustainability, accessibility, and operational performance. This Research Topic responds to these challenges by inviting contributions that deepen understanding of climate-mobility relationships across sectors and regions.This Research Topic aims to examine how mobility systems can be transformed to respond more effectively to climate change while maintaining efficiency, safety, resilience, and social value. Transport and mobility are central to economic development, yet they are also among the major contributors to greenhouse gas emissions and climate-related vulnerability. In this context, there is an urgent need to explore how different modes of mobility especially aviation, public transport, logistics, and urban transportation can transition toward lower-carbon, more adaptive, and more sustainable models. This collection seeks to bring together interdisciplinary research that addresses mitigation, adaptation, governance, innovation, and operational strategies in climate-smart mobility. It will provide a platform for scholars and practitioners to discuss evidence-based solutions, policy design, technological pathways, and organizational responses that can accelerate decarbonization and strengthen climate resilience across mobility systems.This Research Topic welcomes original research, review articles, policy-oriented papers, conceptual studies, case studies, and interdisciplinary contributions related to climate and mobility. Relevant themes include, but are not limited to: transport decarbonization strategies; sustainable aviation and airport transitions; low-carbon mobility systems; climate-resilient transport infrastructure; green logistics and supply chains; electrification and alternative fuels; hydrogen and sustainable aviation fuel pathways; digitalization for sustainable mobility; AI-enabled optimization for emissions reduction; behavioral and organizational dimensions of mobility transitions; mobility governance and regulation; and equity, access, and justice in climate-smart transportation. Contributions may focus on local, regional, national, or global contexts and may use qualitative, quantitative, mixed-method, modeling, or comparative approaches. Submissions that generate practical and policy-relevant insights are especially encouraged. Topic editors: Domingos Martinho, Udit Chawla Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/79065/climate-transitions-under-economic-constraints-energy-growth-and-inequality