EU transport ministers have discussed revisions to the guidelines that govern spending on trans-European transport networks infrastructure projects (TEN-T, soon to be renamed the Connecting Europe Facility), but T&E says concerns remain about how the money will be spent and how the environmental impact of projects co-funded by EU money is accounted for. The Commission says the TEN-T revisions will promote lower-carbon options such as rail projects, but T&E has warned that projects should be judged on their emissions reduction potential.
T&E has called for the EU to adopt a ‘climate rating’ scheme that would assess all transport infrastructure projects for their contribution to climate change before they are given EU funding. The call comes in the run-up to the review of guidelines for the EU to part-fund transport projects, and has involved T&E commissioning a study that provides the outline of a climate rating system.
The city of Madrid may have to remove a motorway as the regional government breached the EU environmental impact assessment and habitats directives in building it.
To help ensure that transport infrastructure spending contributes to overall transport emissions reduction targets, the EU should adopt a ‘climate rating’ methodology that ensures EU funds are used to stimulate clean and efficient infrastructure. This briefing sums up a CE Delft study aimed at developing the basis for such a methodology.
Portugal has included the last 600 kilometres of motorways in its toll system, which means that all the country’s motorways are now tolled for all vehicles.
This reports presents a methodology for climate rating in the appraisal of infrastructure projects and EU funding decisions.
Briefing on how Europe should provide incentives for greener transport projects in its transport spending plans.
On 29 June 2011, the Commission proposed a new seven-year EU budget (Multiannual Financial Framework, MFF) that covers EU public expenditure between 2014 and 2020. This paper summarises the transport-relevant parts of the MFF and attempts to check whether it can help ‘decarbonise’ the transport sector.
Freight carried by rail is up, in particular in eastern Europe. The figures, from the European railway companies’ umbrella organisation CER, coincide with a report highlighting ‘significant potential’ for a shift to rail to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.