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EEA Report No 7/2015: Evaluating 15 years of transport and environmental policy integration.

TERM 2015: Transport indicators tracking progress towards environmental targets in Europe

While the transport sector contributes significantly to society and the economy it also can cause substantial adverse impacts on the environment, global climate and human health. A new report by the European Environment Agency (EEA) analyses key environmental trends with a view to identifying what has improved and what has hampered the past performance of the transport sector.

EEA Report No 7/2015: EEA Report No 7/2015: Evaluating 15 years of transport and environmental policy integration.

Selected facts

  • GHG emissions from transport increased by 19.4% since 1990.
  • In 2013, transport accounted for almost one-quarter of the EU’s total GHG emissions (one-fifth excluding international aviation and maritime emissions). Passenger cars contribute almost 45% and heavy duty vehicles a further 20% of the transport sector’s emissions.
  • As a result of EU legislation, transport emissions of three important air pollutants SOx, NOx and PM decreased in the period 2000 to 2013 in the EU. Particularly for NOx from diesel cars, but also for CO2, there is an increasing difference between ‘official’ emission measurements compared to real-world driving emissions, an area of concern.
  • Between 2000 and 2013, the proportion of diesel in energy consumed by road transport increased substantially. Financial incentives by many European governments have encouraged the uptake of diesel engines. The number of electric vehicles has grown but is only a minimal proportion (0.07%) of total passenger car fleet numbers.
Despite EU policies designed to encourage greater use of environmentally friendly transport modes, car transport remains the dominant mode of passenger transport. Air transport is the fastest growing mode of passenger transport.
Modal shift is a central element in the EU’s decarbonisation ambitions, as improvements in energy efficiency alone are often insufficient to reduce transport’s environmental impacts. Achieving the aspired modal shift would require significant investments in infrastructure, complemented by other measures to promote more environmentally friendly transport models. Innovations such as intelligent transport systems, new business models and autonomous vehicles may increase the future efficiency of the transport system.

Categories

  • Transport
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