EU Transport Sector at the Crossroads? EEA calls for measures to cut emissions

Europe’s transport emissions are showing no sign of decreasing according to the 2008 "Term" report presented by European Environment Agency (EEA) at the European parliament in March.

The report – Transport at a crossroads. TERM 2008: indicators tracking transport and environment in the European Union - highlights that greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) from the EU transport sector rose 26 per cent between 1990 and 2006. Unofficial data for 2006-2008 shows little sign of improvement.

Currently within the EU, there is a reluctance to accept that the transport sector must play a role in the wider contributions to combating climate change. The EEA have called for the recent EU climate and energy package to push the change and create climate targets for the transport sector in 2015 and 2020.

The EEA warn that the economic stimulus packages announced by the EU and its member states do not give enough support for building comprehensive green transport infrastructure. Instead, the focus is on retaining current transport sector jobs. The EEA call for more support to create a restructured and sustainable industry.

The EEA’s findings were presented at a first stakeholder meeting for the European commission’s EU Transport GHG project in Brussels on Friday. The meeting discussed what strategies should be used to reduce transport emissions to meet the EU 2020 and 2050 climate change targets. Richard Smoker from the environmental consultancy, CE Delft, said there was a need to create a long term vision of what potential changes could achieve. The deputy director-general of the European commission’s environment department, Jos Delbeke, raised the idea of a climate and transport package.

Read the Report - Transport at a crossroads. TERM 2008: indicators tracking transport and environment in the European Union

Find out more about the EEA

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Last updated on 1 July 2011