Mots-clés : Transport et mobilité
Transport and Environment - Bulletin / News and views from the field of transport and environment in Europe
February 2011:
Report for Commission confirms carbon-intensity of tar sands
Two new reports have put a figure on how much more carbon-intensive fuels derived from tar sands are, compared with conventionally produced fuels. These reports were prepared for the Commission, which has up to now used the absence of scientific data as a reason for not recognising the excessive contribution these unconventional fuels make to climate change.
First target for transport in EC sustainability strategy
The Commission has published its sustainability strategy for the EU, and it includes a cautiously-worded target for transport to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 60% in the period 1990-2050. This is the first time Brussels has put an overall reduction target for the whole transport sector on the table.
Commission delays action that will determine best biofuels
Despite a massive bank of evidence showing that the EU’s biofuels policy could cause more greenhouse gases than it saves, the Commission has decided to delay by at least six months any action on the phenomenon known as indirect land-use change (Iluc). T&E has said this is not only bad for the environment, but creates damaging uncertainty for the biofuels industry.
WTO says US gave illegal aid to Boeing
The World Trade Organisation has ruled that the American aircraft maker Boeing received illegal subsidies from the US government to develop its 787 plane, EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht said this month.
Paris to trial first city centre car ban
Paris is set to become Europe’s first city to test a complete ban on high-consumption vehicles entering the city centre. The test continues a trend aimed at improving urban air quality by limiting vehicle’s access to urban centres, but the EU’s environment commissioner insists there will be no review of the national pollutant emissions ‘ceilings’ until 2013 at the earliest.
‘Flexibility’ is concession by another name
T&E is working to oppose a watering down of EU rules aimed at reducing emissions from trains and other non-road mobile machinery like construction machines.
Time to stop subsidising the most polluting form of transport
Opinion
By Jos Dings - T&E Director Late last month, the World Trade Organisation told the USA and the EU what it thinks of US subsidies to Boeing (story, page 2). Last June, the WTO delivered a similar verdict on EU subsidies to Airbus. Of course both sides claim that the other’s subsidies are worse – we can’t yet check these claims because the WTO report won’t be published for another few weeks, but it is clear that Airbus received more taxpayer-backed ‘sweet’ loans, while Boeing received more direct subsidies, which are generally recognised as very distorting.
Back to the future for time-based British lorry tax
The British government is the latest EU member state to announce it is introducing a charge on lorries, but it will be a time-based ‘vignette’ system rather than a distance-based charge. A senior official from the European Commission described it as ‘old-fashioned and out of date’.
Revision of TEN-T policy ‘must be sustainable’
EU transport ministers were this month meeting to discuss a revision of the trans-European transport networks (TEN-T) policy. The Commission has published a working document outlining options, with a suggestion that TEN-T policy focuses on a ‘core network’ of routes that would attract most of the available funding.
Package of measures needed for shipping
The Commission’s research unit charged with reducing emissions from shipping has recommended a package of regulatory measures combined with market-based instruments to tackle air pollution and climate impact.
Car efficiency can be doubled
The world’s car fleet could half its fuel consumption between 2005 and 2030, if only governments would set taxes and charges that encourage fuel efficiency and not enhanced performance. That is the finding from a study by the Global Fuel Economy Initiative , which says in many OECD countries, average new car fuel economy could be down to just over 4 litres per 100km (60 miles per gallon).
China more ambitious than EU on climate
A leading climate consultancy says the EU can no longer say it has the most ambitious and influential energy and climate policy in the world. Analysing draft targets on energy efficiency and climate change in China’s next five-year plan, the E3G consultancy says China’s intentions are more ambitious than the EU’s.
Has passenger travel peaked?
Two academics from California are suggesting that passenger travel may have peaked nearly 10 years ago. The two, Lee Schipper and Adam Millard-Ball, studied the demand for car ownership and general travel in eight leading economies (USA, CDN, GB , SWE, FRA, GER, JPN, AUS) between 1970 and 2008.
