EU figures: Transport sector remains climate problem number one

Berlin. The transport sector remains Europe's climate problem number one, according to figures published recently by the European Environment Agency (EEA), which show that greenhouse gas emissions from the transport sector in the EU have increased by 29 percent since 1990. This contrasts with all other sectors, which have seen considerable reductions: industry notched up a reduction of 34 percent, energy production reduced levels of greenhouse gas emissions by 17 percent, and even households have been able to make savings of 14 percent since 1990. "Politicians have been sitting on this transport issue for years," said Dirk Flege, managing director of the Pro-Rail Alliance on Tuesday in Berlin.

"Reducing CO₂ emissions from transport is a challenge that politicians need to focus on urgently," added Flege. "Modal shift will therefore be an important instrument". The Pro-Rail Alliance's managing director pointed out that the railways are far more climate-friendly than, for example, heavy goods vehicles (HGVs). CO₂ emissions from freight trains in Germany are only a quarter of those of HGVs, measured per transported tonne and kilometre. The environmental record of the Austrian railways is even better, where the electricity for trains comes almost entirely from renewable sources. "We are talking about a factor of 15 when comparing trains and HGVs," said Flege, who welcomed the fact that latest EU whitepaper on transport for the first time stipulates the target of a 60 percent reduction in greenhouse gases by 2050 for the entire transport sector. "Looking at the emissions of the transport sector up to now, this target is more than ambitious," added Flege. However, with such a long-term target it might be tempting to hand down the already pressing reform backlog to the next generation of politicians. "Nevertheless, the whitepaper still sends out the right signals."

In a vote on June 17, the German Federal Council, welcomed the goals set out in the EU's whitepaper, while also raising concerns about whether it will be sufficient to make the lion's share of the reductions after 2030.  In a recent statement, it said: "The Bundesrat has considerable doubts about these future projections and believes that greater reductions within the next 10 to 20 years will be necessary in order to achieve the overall reduction target by 2050."

Flege pointed out that, for the first time, EU-wide greenhouse gas emissions from the transport sector did not increase in the years 2008 and 2009. The Pro-Rail Alliance believes however that it is too early to interpret this as a trend reversal.  "It has to be remembered that the economic crisis in 2008 and 2009 led to heavy reductions in the amount of transport almost right across Europe," said Flege. "We will only be on the right track when the trend towards decreasing emission levels continues in the next years."