The European Commission is due to present its roadmap for Sustainable and Smart Mobility” on Wednesday 9 December. The preliminary draft of this strategy, of which EUROPE has obtained a copy, focuses above all on the urgency and the need to green the sector to enable the EU to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 (see EUROPE 12606/9).
This is because, excluding international shipping, transport currently accounts for a quarter of all greenhouse gas emissions in the Union.
The preliminary draft therefore advocates a “systemic” rethink of European mobility through “bold policy choices”. The details of the 80 actions envisaged by the Commission and the few objectives listed in the introduction set the tone.
In particular, the institution is aspiring to introduce at least 30 million zero-emission vehicles and the doubling of high-speed rail traffic within ten years, and would like to see the largest zero-emission aircraft and ships ready for the market by 2035.
Unsurprisingly, the first and longest part of this preliminary project is therefore devoted to the development of sustainable European mobility.
Zero-emission vehicles
For maritime and air transport, the task promises to be all the more delicate since they do not currently have “market ready zero-emission technologies”, says the preliminary draft.
Calling for priority access to sustainable fuels for both sectors, the document confirms the presentation in 2021 of the ReFuelEU Aviation, dedicated to sustainable fuels for aviation, and FuelEU Maritime(see EUROPE 12593/20) initiatives.
As regards road transport, the Commission is considering revising the CO2 performance standards for vehicles by June 2021 and introducing similar standards for buses in 2022.
The 27 detailed measures also include the development of post-Euro 6/VI emission standards for cars, vans, trucks and buses in 2021.
As for rail transport, it should be more electrified. “Where this is not viable, the use of hydrogen should be increased”, says the document.
The EU will therefore need to equip itself with a comprehensive network of charging and refuelling infrastructure. Objective by 2025: to build the first of the at least three million public charging points needed by 2030, says the draft project. A deployment plan and a revision of the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Directive could be presented in 2021.
Political Choices
The next step will be to ensure the availability of these alternatives. “The EU cannot rely exclusively on technical solutions”, the document warns.
It suggests that EU investment should be directed towards a train-based transport offer for distances of less than 300 kilometres. As for planes, they will continue to “ play a dominant role” over distances greater than 1,000 kilometres. The revision of the 2013 urban mobility package is also said to be on the agenda.
Finally, ambitious policies will be needed to ensure, as required by the European Green Deal, that a substantial part of the 75% of land freight currently transported by road is transferred to rail and inland waterways.
Greening cargo
Noting that the modal share of rail in domestic freight has fallen to 16.5% in 2017, the preliminary draft advocates increasing capacity, strengthening cross-border cooperation between infrastructure managers (see EUROPE 12564/18) and generally improving the management of the rail network. All these solutions should be supported in the framework of the revision of the regulation on rail freight corridors, announced for 2021.
Inland waterway freight should be addressed in the third component of the NAIADES programme, also announced for next year, which will certainly focus on the need to renew barge fleets and improve access to financing for the sector.
Encourage manufacturers, users and operators
Finally, technical and political advances will have to be accompanied by measures to stimulate demand, says the preliminary draft.
At the forefront of these measures are carbon pricing and road pricing. The document calls for the full implementation of the ‘polluter pays’ and ‘user pays’ principles for all modes of transport, so that all external environmental costs - €388 billion each year - are borne exclusively by users.
It also confirms the revision in 2021 of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS - see EUROPE 12615/10) and the implementation of the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) (see EUROPE 12574/18).
The Commission could also propose to extend the ETS to the maritime transport sectors, or even to road transport, and to reduce the quotas allocated free of charge to airlines (see EUROPE 12612/30).
As regards industry, the preliminary draft announces a revision of the rules on the weights and dimensions of heavy goods vehicles in 2022 and measures to improve the evaluation of emissions during roadworthiness tests in 2023.
Finally, on the user and operator side, tax incentives encouraging the adoption of low-emission vehicles and guidelines promoting systematic information for passengers on the carbon footprint of their journey would be envisaged for 2022 and 2023.
Resilient and safe transport
According to the preliminary draft, the strategy should also detail a series of actions to ensure the resilience and security of European mobility.
These would be intended, in particular, to respond to persistent problems, exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, such as the inequalities observed between the various territories, the fragility of European passenger rights and the poor conditions of workers in the sector, particularly seafarers.
For example, the Commission would consider, within the next two years, revising and strengthening the regulatory framework for passenger rights and setting up a guarantee scheme for the reimbursement of tickets.
To consult the draft: https://bit.ly/2JF69Cx (Original version in French by Agathe Cherki)