The European Shippers’ Council supports decarbonisation of transport sector and the greening transition. However, it is vital to choose correct tools and realistic directions on the way forward.
ESC shares the position of the International Road Transport Union who is advocating for the timely deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure across the EU. Smart taxation and charges, which encourage operators to decarbonise, are paramount for successfully decarbonising road transport.
Raluca Marian is the Director EU Advocacy and General Delegate of IRU’s Permanent Delegation to the European Union.
Collective passenger transport is a decarbonisation tool in its own right. Yes, it groups people and moves them away from private cars. But it would bring even further benefits if cleaner vehicles and fuels were readily available across the EU.
Greening road freight fleets is also crucial given that road transport by road represents over 75% of the EU’s overland goods transport. What is more, there are realistically no chances of a massive shift to other transportation modes, even in the distant future.
Almost one year after the launch of the ambitious Fit for 55 Package, discussions between the European Parliament and the Council are at an advanced stage on the legislative proposals to boost decarbonisation in the EU.
Three of those are fundamental for the decarbonisation of road transport: the proposal for a regulation on alternative fuels infrastructure (AFIR), the inclusion of road transport in the scope of the emissions trading scheme (ETS II) and the revision of the energy taxation directive (ETD). Are these proposals heading in the right direction?
The green transition of the coming decade will require an enormous effort: about 1 million transport companies in the EU use over 35 million vehicles, of which approximately 7 million are heavy-duty vehicles.
As zero-emission vehicles are starting to hit the market, it is imperative to roll out an alternative fuels infrastructure across the EU. This means making alternative fuels widely available and providing a strong grid to deliver enough power to charge an increasing number of electric vehicles.
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