Browse by topic: Climate Change and Energy, Transport policy

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Ministers’ call for road funding defies CEF agreement

EU transport ministers have contradicted the Commission’s transport infrastructure funding proposals by calling for some of the money to be diverted to road projects. The Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), which replaces the fund for the trans-European transport networks (TEN-T), was put forward last year, with one of its main aims to help the EU achieve its target of reducing greenhouse gases by 60% between 1990 and 2050. For that reason, the Commission had proposed to concentrate funding on rail, intermodal and port projects.

Q: When is a rail project not a rail project? A: When it's meant to get people into planes.

The EU should not be funding airport projects, or dressing up airport express train links as green "intermodal hubs" says T&E's deputy director Nina Renshaw.

Commissioner’s legal u-turn opens the door to megatrucks

Lorry road trains as long as medium-sized aircraft could be permitted to travel throughout Europe, following an unprecedented reinterpretation of existing law by European Transport Commissioner Siim Kallas.  Sustainable transport campaigners Transport & Environment say the change is undemocratic and undermines the Commissioner’s own key objectives for the transport sector of reducing emissions and boosting rail freight.  

The real story behind the latest EEA emissions figures (part 1)

A closer look at Europe's latest annual emissions figures reveals some reasons for concern.  In the first of a two-part blog, T&E's Director Jos Dings explains the reality behind the EEA's numbers.

TEN-T Guidelines and Connecting Europe Facility: Recommendations for sustainable transport spending

This briefing from BirdLife Europe, CEE Bankwatch, Friends of the Earth Europe, T&E and WWF explains how EU transport spending under the Trans-European Transport Networks (TEN-T) and Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) programmes could be made more effective, economically viable and sustainable.A full-length version of this analysis is also available.

Delivering the Goods: Making Lorries Smarter, Safer and Greener

When? 
Tuesday, June 19, 2012 - 12:00 to 17:00
Where? 
Representation of Bavaria to the EU
Rue Wiertz 77
1050  Brussels
Belgium
An afternoon conference for European policymakers to identify solutions to the environmental and safety impacts of road freight. The programme will examine technical solutions for smarter and safer lorries and map a way forward for EU legislators to encourage smarter road freight.  

Opposition that risks having no clean future for liquid transport fuels

Jos Dings, Director T&E

Opinion by Jos Dings - T&E director
People who follow our work – and Europe’s environmental policy – a little bit will have noticed that two fuels-related draft laws keep dragging on without any apparent progress. The first one is what to do about indirect land use change effects of biofuels (key words: Iluc, biodiesel). The second is whether or not to give petrol and diesel from unconventional fossil sources a higher lifecycle greenhouse gas default value (key words: fuel quality directive, tar sands).

Smarter ‘grandfathering’ policy could be the breakthrough on biofuels

Deforestation
A report commissioned by T&E and two other environmental NGOs says the EU can deal successfully with the troublesome issue of indirect land-use change (Iluc) in biofuels production by taking a more enlightened approach to the principle of ‘grandfathering’.

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