EEA: Transport still going in the ‘wrong direction’

Delivering this year’s TERM report (Transport Environmental Reporting Mechanism) in Brussels last month, Jackie McGlade said: ‘A simple re-boot of our failed economic system will not be sufficient to build the low-carbon economy we need to deliver on a post Kyoto agreement. It is now time for a new economics.’

The main findings of the TERM report for the period 1990-2006 are:
• greenhouse gas emissions from transport in the 27 member states have risen by 27%, or 36% if international aviation and shipping are included;
• total freight increased by 35% (650 mt km), but rail and inland waterways saw a decline in market share;
• car ownership in the 27 rose by 22%, or 52 million cars;

The report says that if current trends continue, total transport emissions could grow by nearly 50% between 1990 and 2020 – almost all coming from road and international transport (road 60%, aviation and marine 39%).