Brussels, 11/02/2011 (Agence Europe) - In the absence of any changes to the current transport policy, the cost of transport will increase by around 40% by 2050 and congestion costs will rise to €200 billion a year, 50% more than currently, according to an impact study associated with the future Transport White Paper, which EUROPE has been able to access. The long-term measures envisaged by the European Commission plead in favour of the consolidation of the single market and the introduction of upper limits for carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions for each vehicle, tax harmonisation for the use of diesel and the removal of tax exemptions for company cars. To put the need for decisive action into context, the Commission forecasts that by 2050, oil costs will be 70% higher than today and that traffic growth will cause some €20 billion of additional costs to fight noise pollution.
In order to counteract this scenario, the Commission proposes taking decisive measures both to improve the transport system itself and to improve technology. The aim of these measures is to cut the rate of CO2 emissions from the transport sector (with the exception of international maritime transport) by around 60% between now and 2050, to cut transport's dependency on oil and increase the mobility of citizens and goods.
Community action will be broken down into seven separate areas, all of which will be reflected in the White Paper. These are: - tariffing: a full internalisation of the cost of greenhouse gas emissions from all modes of transport. Eventually, this policy will see all extra costs internalised also, including those of heavy goods vehicles, private cars, motorcycles, rail, navigable waterways and aviation; - taxation: introduction of links between taxation on fuel and environmental performance, introduction of VAT for all international passenger transport services and removing tax regimes which favour company cars; - research and innovation: greater targeting of funds and an improved coordination between actors to develop a common research agenda; - the promotion of efficiency standards and framework measures to promote energy efficiency; one of the measures in contention is the application of standards for emissions of CO2 to all vehicles (cars, locomotives, vans and wagons, ships, barges and aircraft); - the subsequent consolidation of the internal market in the rail sector (development of rail corridors, reinforcement of the European Railways Agency, strengthening the network regulators and the opening-up of the market, also for national services), in aviation (setting the Single European Sky in place), in the maritime sector (simplifying formalities, computerising information exchange systems and revising port legislation) and on the roads (phasing out restrictions to access to the market and the non-harmonised implementation of social legislation); - the planning of transport and infrastructure in such a way as to ensure better coordination of the supply chain; actions taken in this area should, amongst other things, encourage the preparation of mobility plans in cities, and a better management of the individual transport modes.
Amongst other measures being considered by the Commission are, for the long term (post 2020), a removal of the tax exemption for the use of diesel in the rail sector and in local public passenger transport; the introduction of single taxation for the commercial and non-commercial use of diesel and the introduction of a kerosene tax for aviation. In terms of improving technological efficiency, the Commission proposes to reduce further the upper limits for CO2 emissions. The limit for cars will be reduced by 95g CO2/km in 2020 and to 20g CO2/km by 2050 (60g CO2/km for vans). For heavy goods lorries, trains, ships and aircraft, energy efficiency should also increase, by 40%, 40%, 45% and 60% respectively by 2050. The Commission is also planning to include emissions of nitrogen oxide (NOx) from aviation in the European Emissions Trading System (ETS) and to increase the share of renewable energy across the sector. According to the Commission's study, the division on the market of the various modes of transport will be similar to the current situation in 2050. In terms of passenger transport, private cars will still be the most popular means of transport, representing 67% of the market (5% less than in 2005). The market share of air transport is set to reach 15%, whilst rail will increase from a scant 1% to 8% of total activity. (A.By./transl.fl)