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.