• MEPs ask Commission for overall transport CO2 reduction target

    Europe should have a target of reducing overall carbon dioxide emissions from the transport sector by 20% between 1990 and 2020.

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    That is the message from a non-legislative resolution by the European Parliament, following its debate on the Commission’s mid-term review of the 2001 Common Transport Policy (CTP). The call by MEPs’ is believed to be the first time an EU body has called for an overall climate target for the transport sector.

    The EU’s Sustainable Development Strategy calls for a reduction in transport emissions, but has not yet specified how much that reduction should be.

    The resolution was backed by a large number of MEPs when debated earlier this month. Among other things, it says shifting transport from road to rail is key to reducing environmental impact – modal shift was one of the policies in the 2001 CTP that the Commission has suggested should be dropped for the second half of the policy’s period of validity.

    This news story is taken from the July 2007 edition of T&E Bulletin.