Brussels, 02/04/2015 (Agence Europe) - According to a study by the German Renewables Agency (AEE) published on Tuesday 31 March, the transport sector is “lagging behind” in the use of renewable energies.
According to this document, the “transport sector of the European Union has so far been largely untouched by the rise of renewables”, despite this increase being highly visible in other sectors. In 2013, 5.4% of fuels consumed in transport came from renewable sources, which gives the AEE reason to doubt the sector being able to attain the 10% target in 2020. In comparison, the AEE highlights the fact that in the electricity and heating sectors, the share of renewable energies reached 25.4% and 16.3% respectively
The study examines two possible ways of making the transport sector more environmentally friendly: electric vehicles and the use of biofuels. It says that the first option “holds promise”: in 2014 the number of electric vehicles sold in the EU increased by 56%, to a figure of 38,500. This figure should be qualified, however, given that it only represents 0.3% of all cars sold in the EU. The biofuels option is a great deal more sensitive because it has to confront a “difficult political climate”. The AEE believes that it has “untapped potential” because according to the agency, 9 million tonnes of it were produced in 2013 and it would be easy to multiply this figure by more than two.
During a workshop organised in Brussels on Wednesday 1 April, Philipp Vohrer, the AEE managing director, emphasised the contribution that individual behaviour could make, such as “driving less and using smaller vehicles”. “In the European Union, we have the resources to reach the 2020 target of 10% renewables in the transport sector”, he concluded. (Jean Comte)