Improve efforts to develop alternative fuels infrastructure, say MEPs

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
September 26, 2018 Read time: 2 mins
The 1690 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 alternative fuels infrastructure.”

The original 2014 %$Linker: 2 External <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 0 0 0 link-external Directive false https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/en/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32014L0094 false false%> sets out minimum requirements for the construction of an alternative fuels infrastructure – which include recharging points for electric vehicles and refuelling points for natural gas and hydrogen models.

MEPs are calling on the EC to propose more efficient instruments including binding and enforceable targets following what it describes as “differing levels of effort and ambition” in EU countries.

The EC should increase funding to support the uptake of alternative fuels infrastructure beyond its initial €800m pledge, MEPs urge.

They insist that projects developing this infrastructure should have access to grants and loans provided by the Connecting Europe Facility and the 4270 European Investment Bank.

Also, MEPs want member states to review energy taxation frameworks to provide incentives for low-carbon and carbon-free fuels and to remove disparities in energy taxation between different transport modes.

“Furthermore, we strongly advocate the need of the rural areas for sufficient infrastructure, as there should be no European region lagging behind in the transition towards low-emission mobility,” Ertug adds.

The draft resolution will now need to be voted on by the full house of the European Parliament.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Bolt launches dockless e-scooters in Madrid
    April 2, 2019
    Bolt, the ride-share company which was formerly called Taxify, has launched electric kick scooters in central Madrid. The firm piloted the vehicles in Paris last year – making it the first to combine scooter sharing and ride-hailing together in one mobile app, Bolt claims. “Beating the traffic is a big issue in cities like Madrid and a lot of trips are much more efficiently covered with an electric scooter rather than a car with a driver,” says Markus Villig, CEO and co-founder of Bolt. He says the dep
    Read More
  • CHAMP final workshop
    June 12, 2014
    The European Cycling Heroes Advancing sustainable Mobility Practice (CHAMP) project will come to an end in September 2014. The final workshop takes place in Gent, Belgium on 11-12 September. The CHAMP project brings together leading cities in the field of cycling. Within the project, they have looked at innovative ways to further boost cycling in their cities and enhance local policies. CHAMP has developed and tested a performance analysis tool, building on self-analysis as well as peer review by ot
    Read More
  • London’s zero-emission plan is premature, warns FTA
    October 24, 2018
    Plans to implement a clean air zone in London are premature, says a transport trade body - because zero-emission vehicles are not commercially viable. The Freight Transport Association (FTA) is unimpressed with the City of London Transport Strategy’s ambition to improve air quality and traffic in the east of the capital and the Barbican area by 2022. This draft scheme, which maps out a 25-year framework for managing streets within the City’s ‘Square Mile’, includes establishing a speed limit of 15 mp
    Read More
  • LA launches own ‘Green New Deal’
    August 15, 2019
    Los Angeles, once a temple to the automobile, has followed the Democrats in launching its own Green New Deal – and the city has made big pledges on urban mobility investment The Democratic Party has started something. The Green New Deal, one of whose most high-profile supporters is new congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, intends to persuade the public that swift action is necessary to combat climate change. Now the city of Los Angeles has followed suit, releasing what it calls ‘LA’s Green New Deal’.
    Read More

Highlighted Content