Speeding up European Electro-Mobility
This new study by Christian Berggren and Per Kågeson for T&E provides a comprehensive study of benefits and challenges for Europe to electrify its vehicle fleet.
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Europe needs to slash its transport emissions by 94% by 2050 - Effort Sharing Regulation
A study by the respected Öko-Institut in Germany says Europe needs to slash its transport emissions by 94% by 2050. That's what it takes to avoid catastrophic 2 degree warming. Meanwhile, EU governments – particularly Italy and Poland – are trying to destroy the already inadequate target of -30% by 2030.
UN aviation climate scheme threatens gaping hole in EU 2030 targets
This independent study, commissioned by T&E, finds that Europe risks seriously undermining its 2030 climate targets if, as industry argues, it implements a UN offsetting scheme for aviation in full and without reservations. The measure, known as CORSIA, risks creating a gap of 96.2Mtonnes CO2 – equivalent to Europe’s steel and iron emissions in 2015 – with the EU’s 2030 target due to its weak target and reliance on discredited offsetting. To avoid missing its target, other sectors will have to increase their climate ambition to compensate for aviation’s inaction.
LNG as a marine fuel in the EU
In light of the recently adopted initial IMO strategy on reduction of GHG emissions and the Paris agreement, there is a need to better understand the potential market for LNG as a marine fuel, bunkering infrastructure investments required and associated risks in the context of shipping GHG reduction. This report attempts to assess the prospective future public and private financial investments by EU member states into LNG port/bunkering infrastructure consistent with EU plans to foster the widespread uptake of LNG as a means of decarbonising the shipping sector up to 2050. EU member states are mandated to set up LNG port infrastructure under the 2014 Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Directive.
The role of electrofuel technologies in Europe's low-carbon transport future
Electro or e-fuels (or power to liquid/gas) are electricity-based gaseous or liquid fuels which can be used in internal combustion engines. According to a new report by Cerulogy for T&E, e-fuels only have meaningful climate benefits if strict sustainability criteria are observed throughout the production process. The key factors determining the sustainability of e-fuels are the source of electricity (it must be renewable), the source of CO2 (ideally air capture) as well as impacts on land and water. Download the study below plus T&E's briefing.
Electric vehicle life cycle analysis and raw material availability
As the automotive industry is on the brink of a major electric transition, environmental performance of EVs has become a highly debated topic. This study and briefing address two critical aspects of this debate, namely the climate impact of EVs and the use of critical metals, including rare earth minerals.
Real-world fuel economy measurements: technical insights from 400 tests of Peugeot, Citroen and DS cars
In 2015, Groupe PSA, Transport & Environment (T&E), France Nature Environnement (FNE) and Bureau Veritas announced plans to measure and publish real-life fuel economy information for PSA vehicles. Unlike most other fuel economy measurements, the tests were to be performed on the road using a Portable Emissions Monitoring System (PEMS).
New ships: Design efficiency since 2009
This study and accompanying briefing analyse the development of the design efficiency of ships that have entered the fleet from 2009 to 2016. As the Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) of a ship can only be determined in a sea trial, this study uses a simplified version called the Estimated Index Value (EIV). The EIV can be calculated on the basis of publicly available information and the EIVs of ships that entered the fleet between 1999 and 2008 were used to calculate the reference values. The EIV is higher than the EEDI on average, meaning that ships are generally more fuel efficient than the EIV suggests.
Agriculture's untapped potential to contribute to the Effort Sharing Regulation
The European Parliament and EU governments are debating the European Commission's proposed Effort Sharing Regulation (ESR), which sets out binding annual greenhouse gas emission targets for member states in the transport, buildings, agriculture and waste management sectors. It is widely acknowledged that agriculture can contribute to mitigation by increasing carbon removals on agricultural land (reported under LULUCF). However, this independent study for T&E by the Institute for European Environmental Policy shows that there is also a significant untapped potential for the agriculture sector to contribute through reducing its non-CO2 emissions, which are covered by the ESR.
The benefits of road tolls
In May 2017, the European Commission is scheduled to review Directive 1999/62/EC for the third time since its inception. This piece of legislation, known commonly as the Eurovignette Directive, sets the parameters by which EU member states can toll trucks for their use of road infrastructure. This report by Fraunhofer ISI and the Polytechnic University of Madrid looks at the economic and environmental impacts that tolls have had in Germany and Spain since their introduction.