Electrification strategy: a shift to sustainable e­-mobility

This paper sets out why a cross-vehicle, cross-modal strategy to accelerate the electrification of transport – a shift towards sustainable e-mobility – should be an essential part of Europe’s ambition to achieve an energy union but also to attain the benefits of reduced oil imports and transport CO₂ emissions as well as stimulate innovation and jobs.

Europe spends around €300 billion a year on oil imports, most of it to keep transport wheels turning. A third of it comes from Russia and another third from the Middle East. Burning this oil in transport leads to it being the single biggest emitter of CO₂ in Europe; its 2012 share, including aviation and shipping, was 31%. But policies to reduce transport emissions from cars are starting to work. The inexorable rise in transport CO₂ ended in 2007 and since then CO₂ emissions and oil use have fallen by around 10%. Analysis shows this is not just due to the crisis.

Putting Europe on the pathway advocated in the transport White Paper requires a 60% cut in CO₂ by 2050, almost 70% from today’s levels – a 3% reduction per year. Improving vehicle efficiency is one key mechanism to deliver these cuts, but this must be complemented by a comprehensive strategy for sustainable e-mobility.