Modernising Mobility and Making the Transportation Sector More Sustainable: Part 2 of the EGD Series
Photo by Science in HD on Unsplash
By Tom Carter, Amplia Group Senior Associate
If you have not read the first blog in this series on the European Green Deal (EGD), please do so here. It provides an overview of the suite of proposals from the European Commission and broad actions on climate change.
This piece focuses on Energy Production and Mobility, and in the following weeks the final two will cover:
Sustainable Food/Sustainable Production
Protecting Our Environment/Financing the Sustainable Transition
Climate change is impacted by a variety of human activities. Two significant activities that we have some control over are Energy Production and Transportation. These two elements also provide challenging policy and technological issues. While manufacturing and other industrial-scale carbon emission sources number in the thousands globally, there are literally billions of energy and transportation emission sources. Nearly every industrialised nation uses electricity or heat produced by fossil fuels. Many of us drive cars or carbon-fueled transportation. We are all effectively a source of carbon emissions and are therefore a contributor to climate change.
Whether we are aware of it or not, this means that each of us is part of the climate change challenge, and each of us can be part of the solution.
The EGD recognizes the critical importance of energy and transportation in their goal of making the EU carbon neutral by 2050. Each issue is addressed comprehensively and in the context of economic considerations. Europe has taken the torch and boldly leads the world in initiating robust and meaningful action on climate change and sustainability. This blog outlines ways in which the EGD is seeking to modernise the transport sector and make it more sustainable.
Decarbonising Energy
The three elements of the EGD addressing the energy sector involve the three initiatives described below: Strategy for Smart Sector Integration, Renovation Wave, and Offshore Renewable Energy. Each of these programmes will take into account technological, market, and economic considerations.
1 Strategy for Smart Sector Integration
Smart sector integration is a comprehensive approach to innovation in the production and use of energy for all purposes, including electricity, heating, transport and industry. This holistic system-level approach can spur broad and specific innovations while maximizing flexibility and stability through shared energy storage and utilization among the sectors. The strategy will also include assessment of the linkages and conflicts between the sectors, the removal of policy barriers, and the creation of effective incentives for development and adoption of sustainable technologies.
2 Renovation Wave
While the smart sector strategy is heavily focused on necessary innovation in the energy sector, the EGD also acknowledges the opportunities for short-term reductions in carbon and other emissions through renovation and utilization of current technologies and systems. The European Commission estimates that utilization of best available technologies and policies throughout all Member States could reduce the EU´s energy demand by 50 percent by 2050. So a key element of the renovation wave is ensuring effective collaboration and technology transfer among nations.
3 Offshore Renewable Energy
The primary focus of the European Green Deal’s offshore energy effort is on wind technology, which is currently available, proven, and expanding. Yet there remain significant opportunities to increase the production of carbon-free wind energy off of Europe’s shores. An even greater opportunity exists, however, for tapping tidal energy, which has the potential to meet the world’s total energy needs. The challenge, of course, is developing technologies to harness this potential.
What is Sustainable and Smart Mobility?
The EGD also includes an overarching Strategy for Sustainable and Smart Mobility to modernise the transport sector and make it more sustainable. The primary focus is the reduction of transportation carbon emissions by 90 percent by 2050. The strategy includes four key principles:
Improving the sustainability of the entire transport system
Expanding the availability of sustainable transportation solutions to EU citizens and businesses
Ensuring continued support for the polluter-pays principle in all transport modes
Fostering connectivity and access to transport for all.
The EGD’s Strategy for Sustainable and Smart Mobility aims to modernise the transport sector and make it more sustainable. The primary focus is the reduction of transportation carbon emissions by 90 percent by 2050.
The EGD transport strategy will incorporate the following considerations: accessibility, affordability, connectivity, safety, and security. The plan also acknowledges the need for the EU to take a global leadership position to ensure the availability and implementation of sustainable transportation options throughout the world.
EGD Action items
The EGD includes a comprehensive suite of specific legislative and non-legislative proposals addressing each of the eight elements covered in this series of blogs. Those for this blog’s topics are listed below.
Decarbonising Energy
Strategy for smart sector integration (non-legislative, Q2 2020)
Renovation wave (non-legislative, Q3 2020)
Offshore renewable energy (non-legislative, Q4 2020)
Sustainable and Smart Mobility
Strategy for sustainable and smart mobility (non-legislative, Q4 2020)
ReFuelEU Aviation - Sustainable Aviation Fuels, including impact assessment (legislative, Article 100(2) TFEU and/or Article 192(1) TFEU, Q4 2020)
FuelEU Maritime - Green European Maritime Space, including impact assessment (legislative, Article 100(2) TFEU and/or Article 192(1) TFEU, Q4 2020)
What are the Opportunities for Sustainable Industries?
Opportunities for innovations in sustainable energy and transportation are virtually limitless. The European Green Deal will enhance these opportunities for industries and companies in the following sectors:
Renewable energy, including wind, solar, geothermal, and tidal
Decarbonized fuels
Energy storage
Energy distribution and integration platforms
Energy efficient building materials
Building retrofit technologies
Efficient or low carbon heating and cooling technologies
Clean vehicles and carbon-free or low-carbon fuels at all levels from bicycles to jet airplanes
Traffic management systems
Transportation network innovations to maximize the efficiency of delivery and collection systems
Regulatory innovation approaches
Emission trading networks
Innovations related to creating new incentives to develop or utilize sustainable technologies
Digitalisation, automation, and artificial intelligence
Blockchain, digital mapping, and tracking
Connected and automated vehicles, trains, planes and vessels.
The industries and companies that begin now to engage in EU policy will have a greater voice in the specific characteristics of the measures to implement the EGD, including the actions described above.
Our multidisciplinary team, based in the US, UK, and Europe, are uniquely positioned to provide expertise in sustainability, advocacy, public relations, EU policy and relationship-building with the European Commission. Learn more about us and explore how we help our global clients encourage supportive policies and maximise markets for products and services that align to the New European Green Deal.