Editorial by:
João Vieira
T&E Policy Officer
It has taken 15 years, but there may be light at the end of the tunnel on one of the EU's policies that has never been a model of natural justice.
A report into the feasibility of a European consumer tyre label for noise, rolling resistance and safety. Report by Ulf Sandberg of the Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute (VTI).
Health effects, social costs and technical and policy options to reduce road and rail traffic noise. Report commissioned by T&E from CE Delft.
In this brochure, T&E sets out the problem of traffic noise and what can be gained by seriously tackling it, and recommends the best course of action for the EU to adopt in drafting a new set of tighter noise standards.
Close to half of all Europeans are regularly exposed to traffic noise levels that are potentially dangerous to health, a new study has found.
On 9 April 2008, the Slovenian Presidency of the EU in cooperation with T&E, the European Federation for Transport and Environment, hosted a major international conference on the future of road charging in Europe. The discussion focussed on economic, technical and political aspects of road charging for HGVs and experiences in Europe, in the context of the preparation of a new EU legislative framework on fair and efficient pricing.
The Commission’s long-awaited draft legislation on the rules for public authorities to buy road vehicles came out in December, and as expected they will require all authorities in the EU to consider the lifetime cost of pollution emissions and fuel consumption. The principle of bodies such as public transport authorities paying more for vehicles that are environmentally better than cheaper options has been accepted for some time, but the new legislation proposes a harmonised EU methodology for calculating the lifecycle costs of fuel, carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons and particulate matter. One study predicts the proposed law could save up to 1.9 million tonnes of CO2 a year by 2017.
London, which introduced a congestion charge in 2003, was due to begin charging a pollution fee on lorries, buses and coaches entering a ‘low emissions zone’ earlier this month.
The next round of pollution emissions limits for lorries and buses has been proposed by the Commission, and they will change from being a directive to a regulation.
The idea of making road transport pay true prices has moved a step closer. The Commission has announced it will propose a revision of the Eurovignette directive in June that will include internalising external costs.