The European railway sector welcomed the publication, on June 21, 2010, of the final report on the study concerning the decarbonation of the transport sector by 2050 elaborated by EC’s Directorate General for Climate Action. The railway sector especially welcomed the conclusion reached: the use of economic instruments for the internalisation of external costs is the best and most efficient approach.
Jose Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission (EC), clearly stated that it will take a lot of effort to achieve the decarbonation of the transport sector. “Towards eliminating carbon emissions in transport by 2050” is the title of the final report on the study developed within the last year, entitled “Greenhouse gas emissions in the European transport sector: Directions towards 2050?”. The study developed at the Commission’s request clearly states the need for a well-coordinated, “ambitious and detailed” strategy for the reduction of greenhouse gas emission in the transport sector, which have increased by 25% since 1990. The report concludes that all available measures should be taken if the transport sector will help reach the EU target on greenhouse gas emission reduction: 80%-95% by 2050.
The report outlines the fact that technological innovation will not be enough to reach the desired level of carbon content. “It seems rather difficult (if not impossible) to reduce greenhouse gas emission in the transport sector by 50% or more only by implementing technological innovations”, specifies the report. “If the non-technological alternatives would be considered more than the technological options, greenhouse gas emission could be reduced by approx. 89% by 2050, compared to the level recorded in 1990.”
“This report is an important part of the work done and the European Commission should consider it in the elaboration of the White Paper on Transport. It is very clear that there is no “silver bullet” when it comes to approaching this issue. Only a global approach that covers all the aspects is essential”, said Johannes Ludewig, Executive Director CER.
NO “hidden” subsidies
The report demands the use of a wide range of strategic instruments in order to stimulate the adoption of necessary measures, such as the internalisation of external costs for all modes of transport, the harmonization of tariff policies and the elimination of “hidden” subsidies and “corrupt” incentives, which often act against the green modes of transport, creating serious discrepancies in the development of fair and integrated transport systems.
Moreover, the report outlines the fact that the establishment of fair tariff policies will have positive effects in terms of influencing passenger behaviour, generating profit and ensuring a fair treatment for all modes of transport.
The European railway sector considers useful the fact that the report certifies the need to make investments in the rail infrastructure, thus reducing the level of carbon. “There is a strong link between ensuring the infrastructure, land planning and the transport speed on the one hand, and the transport demand and intermodality on the other hand”, shows the report. “The European Union should urge the use of economic instruments for the internalisation of external costs generated by the transport sector, because having ambitious objectives is a mandatory requirement if we want to obtain concrete results”, said Dan Wolff, Head of Policy at EIM.
“If the European Union has serious intentions about reaching the 20% CO2 reduction targets by 2020, it is necessary to establish a global CO2 emission reduction target for the transport sector”, concluded Michael Clausecker, UNIFE Director-General.
by Elena Ilie
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