Transport and Environment - Bulletin / News and views from the field of transport and environment in Europe

September 2011:

New fuel consumption report counters ‘unaffordable’ claims for cleaner cars

Cars sold in Europe are getting more fuel-efficient and also cheaper, thereby countering industry claims that obligatory fuel efficiency standards would put cars out of reach of buyers. That is the main message of T&E’s 2011 report into progress made by Europe’s car makers on reducing carbon dioxide emissions. The report confirms that Fiat, Toyota and Peugeot-Citroën remain the makers whose cars emit less CO2.

EU is miscalculating climate benefits of biofuels, says EEA

A new report says the EU is seriously miscalculating the contribution biofuels can make to tackling global warming. It calls on the EU to review its bioenergy laws, but the recommendation comes as the EU looks set to postpone by seven years the introduction of new rules aimed at accounting for the full climate impacts of biofuels.

Eurovignette revision approved as states step up activity on road charging

The long-running saga of the EU’s rules on road use charges for heavy goods vehicles has come to an end – at least for now – with final agreement on the third version of the Eurovignette directive. The directive comes into effect as several states, both inside and outside the EU, are introducing or considering road user charges.

Low-sulphur marine fuels work!

Requiring ships to use low-sulphur fuels and slow down makes a massive difference to air pollution, according to a new study from America.

Berlin leads the field for tackling air pollution

A group of environmental NGOs has published a ranking list of 17 European cities, based on what they have done to improve air quality. Berlin came top, closely followed by Copenhagen, Stockholm, Vienna and Zurich.

How can you regulate something you don’t measure properly?

Opinion
by Jos Dings - T&E deputy director
All the current talk about developments in aviation and environment seems centred on the row over the impending introduction of emissions trading for the sector. But something else is going on in the aviation world that could have very important global repercussions too. It is to do with measuring the fuel efficiency of aircraft, something that is totally normal in the road traffic sector. But in aviation, the issue is being made artificially complicated, and being hidden from daylight.

German ideas would lead to louder cars

The German government has launched an initiative on reducing noise from cars that would lead to dramatic noise increases. T&E is warning that the German proposals, presented to the UN Economic Commission for Europe, show that Germany’s car industry is looking to secure permission for certain high-performance cars to be twice as loud, and Porsche sports cars four times as loud as normal cars.

Alternative fuels strategy

The Commission is consulting on its plans for an alternative fuels strategy, which will form part of the EU’s transport policy for the next 10 years.

More than 2000 demonstrators representing all 51 states of the USA staged a protest outside the White House last month, objecting to the Keystone XL pipeline that would pump oil derived from tar sands from Canada to large parts of America.

The German state of Baden-Württemberg has published an ambitious plan to reduce its CO2 emissions by 90% by 2050.

Children’s lives are still at risk from air pollution, and better traffic regulation and awareness of weather conditions can help tackle the problem.

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