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.

Related Content

  • February 14, 2013
    USDOT makes US$7 million available for multi-state projects
    The US Department of Transportation (USDOT) is making funds available to existing and potential multi-state organisations and other agencies engaged in corridor transportation activities for participation in the Multi-state Corridor Operations and Management (MCOM) Program authorised by the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU). The purpose of the investment is to promote regional cooperation, planning, and shared project implementation for program
    Read More
  • September 24, 2018
    UK well positioned to benefit from autonomous lorries, says Inrix
    Driver shortage, commercially-viable roads and Brexit uncertainty position the UK to develop and benefit from autonomous freighting, says Inrix. The analytics company's latest report has identified the A1 from Sheffield to Edinburgh as the most suitable corridor for testing highly automated vehicles (HAV). The Inrix Automated Freight Corridor Assessment reveals the next best-suited corridor is the M5/A38 from Plymouth to Birmingham, followed by the M4 from Swindon to Swansea.
    Read More
  • May 31, 2013
    Connected cones make for safer sites
    David Crawford welcomes new lives for old road safety products. Traffic cones and barrels have traditionally been on the bottom shelf of the road construction and maintenance industry, typically forming visible soft safety barriers for temporary works at a lower cost than concrete alternatives. On both sides of the Atlantic, however, they are fast gaining new roles as instrumented components in advanced construction safety arrays. The EC-sponsored €1 million (US$1.31 million) Safelane collaborative innovati
    Read More
  • February 7, 2019
    Go-Ahead uses Dovu’s blockchain tech to augment customer data
    UK train and bus company Go-Ahead is to use Dovu’s blockchain-driven reward platform to gain more data on its passengers. The scheme will be rolled out initially on Go-Ahead’s Thameslink and Southern Rail train services and offers passengers using the Dovu platform the chance to earn cryptocurrency when they share their travel information. This will be used to help them make changes to their travel behaviour, the companies say. Among other things, Dovu aims to encourage the use and sharing of tran
    Read More

Highlighted Content