Skip to main content

EU having ‘intense’ discussions over ‘low-carbon mobility’ goals

According to Maroš Šefčovič, the Commission vice-president for the Energy Union, the European Commission is having “very intense discussions” with member states over the individual emissions reduction percentage that they will be assigned to reduce emissions in sectors not covered by the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), says Euractiv. Šefčovič devoted substantial attention to the situation in the non-ETS sector and to the issue of ‘low-carbon mobility’, or reducing emissions from transport. The non-ETS se
June 3, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
According to Maroš Šefčovič, the Commission vice-president for the Energy Union, the European Commission is having “very intense discussions” with member states over the individual emissions reduction percentage that they will be assigned to reduce emissions in sectors not covered by the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), says Euractiv.

Šefčovič devoted substantial attention to the situation in the non-ETS sector and to the issue of ‘low-carbon mobility’, or reducing emissions from transport. The non-ETS sectors refer to areas not covered by the Scheme for greenhouse gases, which currently covers mainly power generation and energy-intensive industries such as cement, chemicals and steelmaking.

Šefčovič stressed that without breakthroughs in new technologies, research and innovation, it would be a big challenge to achieve global targets for 2030, 2050, and to have a carbon-neutral economy by the end of the century, as EU countries committed to at COP21.

He said that the Pact of Amsterdam approved on 31 May was a very good setting for moving the agenda forward, thanks to bottom-up initiatives and involving mayors, who very much want to be part of this initiative, and NGOs.

The Pact of Amsterdam, which establishes the Urban Agenda for the EU, will focus on a more effective and coherent implementation of existing EU policies in cities in the fields of environment, transport and employment.

According to Šefčovič, under COP21, EU countries need to present their roadmaps for how they plan to achieve their climate goals up to 2050, and that a first stock-taking would take place in 2020. He added that at EU level, the effort-sharing decisions would be adopted before the summer break, in one legislative package on low-carbon mobility.

Šefčovič stated that the European Commission would be working very closely with the member states, once its effort-sharing proposal was on the table.

“Currently we are on a very intense discussion at political and technical level with our member states on what should be the percentage we would offer to each member state by which they would need to reduce GHG emission in non-ETS sector, meaning transport, agriculture and the buildings,” Šefčovič said.

Related Content

  • Russia's high speed toll link - aims and opportunities
    July 31, 2012
    Construction of a new toll link between the Russian capital of Moscow and the country's second-largest city, the port of St Petersburg, is due to start in 2012. Here, ITS International takes look at the project to date and the opportunities for foreign companies to get involved. The construction of a new toll link between the Russian capital Moscow and the country's second-largest city St Petersburg has a number of aims. It will lead to the creation of a high-speed vehicular link between the two which will
  • Why integrated traffic management needs a cohesive approach
    April 10, 2012
    Traffic control is increasingly being viewed as one essential element of a wider ‘system of systems’ – the smart city. Jason Barnes, Jon Masters and David Crawford report on latest ideas and efforts for making cities ‘smarter’ Virtually every element of the fabric and utilitarian operations that make urban areas tick can now be found somewhere in the mix that is the ‘smart city’ agenda. Ideas have expanded and projects pursued in different directions as the rhetoric on making cities ‘smarter’ has grown. App
  • Improve efforts to develop alternative fuels infrastructure, say MEPs
    September 26, 2018
    The European Commission (EC) and member states need to ‘redouble efforts’ to boost the development of an alternative fuels infrastructure, say transport MEPs. The warning comes in a draft resolution from the Transport and Tourism Committee. Ismail Ertug, rapporteur, the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament, says: “Our initiative report urges the Commission to accelerate the revision of the directive, come up with strong infrastructure targets and more funding for a
  • New ETI report highlights technologies to cut carbon emissions in shipping
    January 24, 2017
    The Energy Technologies Institute (ETI) has published a new report in which it highlights affordable measures and technologies that could be taken to reduce the fuel consumption and carbon emissions from shipping. The International Maritime Organisation has stated that maritime emissions could rise by up to 250 per cent by 2050 compared to 2011 levels unless action is taken. According to ETI, eliminating fossil-fuels for shipping does not appear credible in the next few decades; it believes the best