EU: Towards a greener transport policy

PRESS RELEASE – Cars, buses, trains, bikes, planes – we all use different types of transport to get around and get on with our lives. Data for the European Union of 25 members showed that 1/3 of energy consumption is taken up by transport. On 22 November the Transport Committee discussed a report, being drafted by Italian MEP Gabriele Albertini (EPP-ED), which says that savings of 60% are possible. A hearing was also held in October.

The amount of energy we currently use for transport accounts for 24% of the EU's greenhouse gas emissions. With this figure rising, the need for cuts in CO2 emissions to counter global warming is increasingly apparent.

Can technology save us?
Technological innovation is one of the cornerstones of the Albertini report. He believes that alternative fuels are essential if the EU transport sector is to become greener. He is also in favour of taxing different forms of transport according to how much they pollute. He calls for action particularly in urban and metropolitan areas as well as sensitive areas like mountains and the sea.

Incentives to use greener vehicles
The need to provide incentives to use green vehicles was emphasised during the hearing by Transport Committee Chairman Paolo Costa (ALDE). He also focused on the need to evaluate information before drawing any conclusions.

The need not only for green transport but also for all modes to be integrated was stressed by German Socialist Ulrich Stockmann.

Cup of coffee: "29 companies and 18 countries"
Jens Hügel of the International Road transport Union said that "to have a cup of coffee in front of your PC each morning you need 29 companies and 18 countries". "Bio-fuels are not the solution, they are not CO2 neutral?we have to address the human factor".

Jos Dings of the European Federation for Transport and Environment said that short plane journeys were "very critical" in terms of pollution. He told the Hearing that "we need more integrated transport policy". Johannes Ludewig, Executive Director, Community of European Railway and Infrastructure said that a shift towards railway travel "can represent the solution, a good contribution for an environmental sustainable transport policy".

Opening railways and ports across the EU
The future of railways in the EU will be discussed during Plenary session this week in Brussels. It raises the intriguing possibility that trains could run unhindered from Lisbon to Liverpool sometime in the future. In September a package of measures to open the railway market was agreed.

Mr Albertini?s report is due to go to Committee in January and to the plenary in February.

More info:
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