Mots-clés : Transport et mobilité
Transport and Environment - Bulletin / News and views from the field of transport and environment in Europe
The printable version of the November 2011 bulletin can be downloaded from our website.
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November 2011:
USA orchestrating major push to stop aviation emissions trading
A leading American airline is thought to be behind an intensive push by the USA and other governments to prevent international aviation entering the EU’s Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) in January. Earlier this month, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (Icao) approved a non-binding resolution calling on the EU to rethink emissions trading for flights involving non-EU airlines, while the US House of Representatives passed an ‘EU ETS Prohibition Act 2011’ saying US airlines should not be included. Yet T&E has discovered a former airline lawyer may well be behind these initiatives.
Warnings show time is running out for tackling climate change
Extreme warnings about the consequences of delaying action to tackle climate change have come from two sources in the last month. The International Energy Agency (IEA) says a global climate deal must be agreed by 2017 if global temperatures are to be kept under control, and an American institute says global warming is happening faster than the most pessimistic scenarios have predicted.
Transport badly lagging behind targets
The latest report on trends in European transport trends show the EU is highly unlikely to achieve its target of reducing transport emissions by 60% between 1990 and 2050 through technology alone.
Berlin approves megatrucks – but they’re banned in much of Germany
The German government has approved the use of oversized lorries – known as ‘megatrucks’ or ‘gigaliners’ – for a five-year trial. But even if doubts about the decision’s legality are removed, the lorries will effectively be allowed in less than half the country, as some federal states have banned them.
EU must avoid getting 'locked in' to igh carbon oil
Opinion
by Nusa Urbancic – T&E Policy Officer
One of the least-noted parts of the EU’s ‘climate and energy package’, agreed three years ago, was the Fuel Quality Directive. It should have been better noted because it went straight to the root of one of transport’s biggest problems, namely oil’s increasingly dirty future. It did so by setting a target for reducing lifecycle carbon emissions of petrol and diesel. As such it is a simple, technology-neutral way of encouraging producers of fuel to work towards cleaner products and better extraction methods.
How many drivers understand car air conditioning?
Most modern cars have air conditioning as a standard feature. Such air conditioning needs to be powered, and therefore leads to greater use of fuel per kilometre driven.
Study shows high emissions from growing biodiesel from palm oil
Biofuels produced from palm oil grown in tropical peatlands are a significant source of greenhouse gases. This is the finding of a new study done for the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) which, if taken on board by the EU, would disqualify biofuels from palm oil sources from being counted towards the EU’s renewable fuels target.
Particulate limits violated across the continent
The EU’s limits on particulate matter are being violated across the continent, according to the European Environment Agency’s latest ‘Term’ report.
Cleaning up shipping
A plan to make the shipping industry more sustainable has been supported by 17 leading companies with a combined market value of $500 billion.
Australia sets carbon price
Australia has voted to set a price on carbon emissions in an effort to make the country’s industry more energy-efficient.
Active commuters healthier
A survey of 21 000 commuters in Sweden has shown car and public transport users suffer more everyday stress, poorer sleep, exhaustion and struggle with their health compared with those who walk or cycle.
Cost of congestion
An institute in America has tried to calculate the monetary and time value of traffic congestion – and says it costs the USA $101 billion a year.
