European Strategy for Low-Emission Mobility

In 2014 the EU agreed to a clear commitment: to collectively reduce greenhouse gas emissions of at least 40% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels across all sectors of the economy. As transport is responsible for 33% of final energy consumption and 23% of total EU emissions, the transition to low-emission mobility is essential to reach the EU’s ambitious climate objectives and to improve the quality of life in our cities.

To set clear and fair guiding principles to Member States to prepare for their future climate actions, on 20 July 2016 the European Commission decided on a package of measures to reduce emissions in the sectors transport, buildings, agriculture, waste, land-use and forestry.

The Package consists of four elements:

+ An overarching message 'Accelerating Europe’s transition to a low carbon economy' [COM(2016)500]
+ A legislative proposal on binding annual greenhouse gas emissions reductions by Member States from 2021 to 2030 [COM(2016)482] (the Effort Sharing Proposal)
+ A legislative proposal on the inclusion of greenhouse gas emissions and removals from land use, land use change into the 2030 climate and energy framework [COM(2016)479]
+ A European Strategy for Low – Emission Mobility [COM(2016)501].

The Strategy for Low-Emission Mobility includes the following main points:

+ Increasing the efficiency of the transport system (digitalisation, road pricing, e-toll systems, multimodality)
+ Speeding up the deployment of low-emission alternative energy for transport (low emission alternative fuels, second generation biofuels, charging infrastructure)
+ Moving towards zero-emission vehicles (common standards for electromobility, stricter emission standards, emission measuring systems).

This Keysource focuses on the Strategy itself, and contains:-

+ Overviews on the Strategy
+ Analysis on the main thematic points of the Strategy
+ Stakeholder views (EU Instititutions and NGOs positions)
+ Statistical publications with focus on enviromental impact of transport.

Written by Balazs Hopp.