On July 20, 2016, the European Commission released its Communication on “A European Strategy for Low-Emission Mobility” (COM (2016) 501), which covers all transport modes. Regarding road transport, the Communication includes proposals on optimizing the transport system, low-emission alternative energy, and low- and zero-emission vehicles.
Three associations active in road construction— the European Concrete Paving Association (EUPAVE), the European Asphalt Pavement Association (EAPA), and the Forum of European National Highway Research Laboratories (FEHRL)—jointly highlighted the opportunity offered by the road pavement itself to reduce CO2 and other emissions from vehicles. They noted that smooth, well-maintained road surfaces lead to lower rolling resistance, and thus lower emissions from vehicles, and so upgrading and maintaining roads should be part of any strategy to reduce road transport emissions. They called for increased investment in roads and greater alignment of policies on CO2 with policies for upgrading and maintenance of roads.
“Research by FEHRL’s members has shown that smoother roads can reduce CO2 emissions from vehicles to the order of 5% – this adds up to huge savings across the whole network,” said Thierry Goger, Secretary General-FEHRL.
“It would be a shame to miss this opportunity, which requires no new technologies, to reduce emissions while also making gains in terms of safety, efficiency and durability,” said Karl Downey, Secretary General-EUPAVE.
A European Strategy for low-emission mobility: The global shift towards low-carbon, circular economy has started and its pace is accelerating. To ensure Europe stays competitive and will be able to respond to the increasing mobility needs of people and goods, the Commission’s low-emission mobility strategy sets clear and fair guiding principles to Member States to prepare for the future. The Energy Union strategy contributes to this goal.
The low-emission mobility strategy frames the initiatives that the Commission is planning in the coming years, and it maps the areas in which it is exploring options. It also shows how initiatives in related fields are linked and how synergies can be achieved. It should be seen as one of the tools to modernise the European economy and strengthen its Internal Market.
The main elements of the Strategy:
- Increasing the efficiency of the transport system by making the most of digital technologies, smart pricing and further encouraging the shift to lower emission transport modes
- Speeding up the deployment of low-emission alternative energy for transport, such as advanced biofuels, electricity, hydrogen and renewable synthetic fuels and removing obstacles to the electrification of transport
- Moving towards zero-emission vehicles. While further improvements to the internal combustion engine will be needed, Europe needs to accelerate the transition towards low- and zero-emission vehicles. (EU legislation currently refers to low-emission vehicles as vehicles having tailpipe emissions below 50g/km. This would include some plug-in hybrids, full electric cars and fuel cell (i.e. hydrogen-powered) vehicles. The latter two examples also represent zero-emission vehicles.)
Other components are:
Strategy to support jobs, growth, investment and innovation
Available funding to support actions
Benefits for the European citizens and consumers
Strategy to make the transport system more efficient
Strategy to promote the use of low-emission energy in transport
Strategy to create a market for zero-emission vehicles
Stepping up action on lorries, coaches and buses
Action at global level
To review the entire European Commission Mobility and Transport’s “Communication” on European Strategies, please go to:
http://ec.europa.eu/transport/themes/strategies/news/2016-07-20-decarbonisation_en.htm.
To review the entire press release, please go to: /documents/graphics/newsletter48/2016-07-20-joint-press-release-eupave-eapa-fehrl.pdf.
For questions, please contact:
Karl Downey, Secretary General-EUPAVE: E-mail: k.downey@eupave.eu
For more information, please go to the EUPAVE website: www.eupave.eu