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 15, 2019
    Canada invests in Vancouver’s EV charging infrastructure
    The government of Canada is investing CAN$300,000 in the construction of six electric vehicle (EV) fast chargers in Vancouver. This funding is part of the government’s CAN$182.5m investment to develop a fast-charging network for EVs and establish natural gas stations along roads and hydrogen stations in metropolitan areas. The chargers are partially funded through the Electric Vehicle and Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Deployment Initiative, a programme which falls under Canada’s $180 billion Inves
    Read More
  • August 2, 2013
    EC promotes ''against lock-in'' approach on ITS standards
    According to the European Commission (EC), open standards for intelligent transportation systems (ITS) would save the public sector €1 billion a year US$1.5 billion a year, citing Urban Traffic Management and Control (UTMC) as one of the standards being developed in the transport domain. Launched in 1997, the UTMC programme was the UK Department for Transport (DfT) main initiative for the development of a more open approach to ITS in urban areas. UTMC systems are designed to allow the different application
    Read More
  • February 5, 2015
    Impact of new European Directive on toll concessions: ASECAP conference
    ASECAP, the European association of operators of toll road infrastructures is organising a high level conference to analyse the impact of the new European Directive on the award of concession contracts across Europe, focusing specifically on the transport sector. The conference, whose theme is Concession model, an efficient tool to foster growth across Europe: how to build a level-playing field to attract private investors, will be held on 30 March 2015 from 1030 to 1630 at the European Economic and Soc
    Read More
  • January 25, 2019
    Colorado signs exec order to support transition to ZEVs
    Governor of Colorado Jared Polis has signed an executive order which outlines a suite of initiatives to support a transition to zero emission vehicles (ZEV) in the US state. Polis says: “Our goal is to reach 100% renewable electricity by 2040 and embrace the green energy transition already underway economy-wide” He believes the public health and environmental benefits of widespread transportation electrification will increase as the state moves towards a cleaner electric grid. The initiatives include
    Read More

Highlighted Content