The European Commission has an ambitious goal to achieve carbon neutrality: to transform the way we move. And for mobility to be more sustainable, the sector as a whole must reduce, from now until 2050, your greenhouse gas emissions by 90%. To achieve this, the European Union has established a timetable with precise goals.
- About 100 European cities must be climate neutral.
- The high-speed rail traffic will have to double in all Europe,
- The market must have the first zero-emission seagoing vessels.
In 2035, the goal is:
- Power commercialize high-capacity aircraft that do not produce emissions.
- The Vehicles, trucks and buses, as well as those of large tonnage recently manufactured, must not produce emissions.
The European Commission has decided to propose such an extensive timetable since, as stated by the Transport Commissioner, Adina Vălean, a transformation of such magnitude requires adjustments on the part of society as a whole.
“If we think of less polluting vehicles, and of encouraging their use, since we are talking about the fact that in 2030 there should be 30 million zero-emission cars and 80,000 zero-emission trucks, too, we have to deploy infrastructure and charging stations. That is why we have decided that by 2025, there will be a million charging stations, and by 2030 3 million … This is the type of goal we are setting for the decarbonization of transport, “he says.
Andrew Murphy of the NGO Transport and Environment welcomes the proposals, but wonders if these ambitions will be realized.
“It is ambitious. It addresses all modes of transport and the need for them to be decarbonized as soon as possible. It contains many interesting ideas. But strategy is only the beginning of the work. There is still a lot to do. Take for example what is going to happen. in the aviation sector. The European Commission has proposed putting new fuels in planes to make flights more sustainable. But we still don’t know what kind of fuel they are going to use. Are they going to use biofuels from agricultural crops that can harm the environment? Or will you try to develop new types of fuels made from renewable electricity? That’s all there is to do and decide in 2021. ”
Transport accounts for a quarter of total EU greenhouse gas emissions, a figure that has increased in recent years.