Transport is Europe’s biggest climate problem

The latest data from the European Environment Agency (EEA) reconfirms that transport is Europe’s biggest climate problem. Transport greenhouse gas emissions in the EU have risen for the third year running. Including the EU’s contribution to emissions from international aviation and shipping, transport emissions now represent 27% of the EU total. Total EU emissions had been steadily declining since 2007, but they have flatlined from 2014, shedding merely 0.2%.

95% of EU transport emissions come from road transport, and these emissions have been growing since 2013 despite CO₂ standards for cars since 2009. Last year, transport emissions rose by 2.1%. These figures put into question the EU’s ability to reach the 2 degree COP 21 goal.

Why are transport emissions out of control? Improvements in efficiency and the penetration of renewable fuels have not kept pace with demand. Passenger and freight activity continue to grow strongly. Governments are unwilling to introduce unpopular measures to kerb car use or flights, whilst increasingly freight movements are viewed as an inevitable consequence of economic growth. There has been almost no improvement in real world new car CO₂ emissions for 5 years; no improvement in truck efficiency for 20 years, and the slow turnover of the aviation fleet and unambitious targets set for the sector by the UN’s aviation agency, ICAO.

The Bonn COP reiterates daily: the clock is ticking, we are burning through our CO₂ budget and CO₂ concentrations are heading to 500 ppm, which would signify the acceleration of climate change and a likely rise of more than 2 degree Celsius rise in global temperature. The more we delay, the steeper the future cuts will have to be.

Source: Transport & Environment
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