Position
paper on the Marco Polo programme on how to improve the environmental
performance of the freight transport sector
T&E
welcomes the objectives of Marco Polo programme
T&E, the European Federation for Transport and
Environment welcomes the Commission’s proposal on the granting of Community
financial assistance to improve the environmental performance of the freight
transport system. This proposal, known as the Marco Polo programme, is intended
to reduce road congestion and improve the environmental performance of the
transport system by shifting freight transport from road to short sea shipping,
rail and inland waterway transport.
The Marco Polo programme, replacing the PACT
programme (Pilot Action for Combined Transport), is planned for the period 2003
to 2007 and amounts to 115 million Euros. Its scope is broader than the PACT
programme. It includes modal shift actions, which should deliver impacts within
three years, catalyst actions which should be viable after four years and
common learning actions which lead to the improvement of commercial services in
the market. The supported actions must
have a minimum size of 500'000 Euros for common learning actions, 1 Mio Euros
for modal shift actions and 3 Mio Euros for catalyst actions.
With regard to the development in freight transport
over the last 30 years, concerted actions are needed to reverse the trend, i.e.
towards more road transport, and to reduce the negative impacts of freight
transport. There is a general consensus that intermodal transport must play an
important role as part of a sustainable European transport system and that
investments must be concentrated on transport modes with fewer impacts on the
environment. This consensus culminated in the strategy of the European
Transport Ministers to integrate the environment into the transport sector,
agreed in 1999.[1] The European
Conference of Ministers of Transport ECMT underlined the importance of
intermodal transport at their last meeting in Bucharest in May 2002.[2]
Despite the expressed political support for
intermodal transport and modal shift, the Council of Transport Ministers under
the Spanish presidency in June 2002 could not agree on the Marco Polo
programme. The main dispute was on the budget for the programme. Most transport
ministers wanted to reduce the budget proposed by the Commission. This, of
course, stands in stark contradiction to the previously agreed objective to promote
combined transport and modal shift in order to reduce congestion and the
environmental impacts of transport.
T&E supports the objectives of the Marco
Polo programme but considers the proposed budget of 115 Mio Euros as a an
absolute minimum level to obtain any results. Any attempt to cut this budget down indicates a lack of commitment to
moving the current transport system towards sustainability.
T&E
doubts the effectiveness of Marco Polo
T&E supports the objective of the Marco Polo
programme as it will move freight transport in the right direction and urges
its adoption. However, it doubts the ability of the programme to achieve its
objectives, i.e. to reduce congestion and the environmental impacts of
transport. The Marco Polo programme is a necessary but insufficient tool to
reverse a 30-year-old trend in European freight transport by itself. It does
not change the underlying structure and its budget is too small.
§
Financial aid is too
small to achieve modal shift
The proposed 115 Mio Euros for the Marco Polo
programme cannot change freight transport fundamentally and shift a
considerable quantity of goods from the road to other transport modes.
Therefore, it is unlikely to achieve a major impact on reducing congestion or
improving the environment. Compared to the huge distortions and unbalanced
investments in favour of road transport over the last years, the Marco Polo
programme budget is tiny. It has to
cover six years, be shared among all EU member states and be spent for all
types of intermodal projects: from promoting combined road-rail transport to
pushing even such dubious new concepts as motorways of the sea.
§
Financial aid for
intermodal transport is only one instrument to achieve modal shift
Competition between transport modes is heavily
distorted. The framework needs to be
changed and the playing field levelled. The Marco Polo programme can only be
effective if other instruments accompany it. International rail freight
services must be improved. Therefore, the opening of the rail network must be
accelerated. Furthermore, price distortions between transport modes must be
abolished and fair and efficient pricing for transport infrastructure use
established in EU Member States.
§
Modal shift is not
sufficient to reduce the environmental impacts of transport
Much more must be done than modal shift to reduce the
environmental impact of freight transport. The permanent growth in freight
transport must be broken and the growth rate of transport decoupled from
economic growth as European leaders recognised in Gothenburg in 2001[3].
Therefore, it is important to implement fair and efficient pricing instruments.
Furthermore, logistics should be developed to increase efficiency of the
transport system. The Marco Polo programme should also support activities that
aim to reduce or prevent the need for transport.
§
Congestion is only
partly a freight transport problem
It is an illusion that any measure taken only in
freight transport can reduce congestion. Congestion is mainly a problem of private
cars, which are far more numerous than trucks. Even though trucks take up more
space per vehicle, and have very heavy impacts on the environment, they seldom
cause congestion. Without an appropriate pricing system for private cars and
transport demand measures for them, congestion will not disappear.
§
Change in freight
transport requires changes in other policy areas
Freight transport is not isolated from the economy
and society and thus cannot be changed by transport policy alone. A sustainable
European land use planning policy is needed that change production,
distribution and consumption patterns, in order to reduce and prevent
transport.
T&E’s recommendation
·
T&E recommends
to the European Parliament and the Council to approve the Marco Polo programme.
·
T&E considers
the proposed 115 Mio Euros for the Marco Polo programme the lowest possible
amount and encourages the European Parliament and the Council to increase the
budget.
·
T&E urges the
European Parliament and the Council to add activities which aim to reduce the
need for freight transport and prevent transport to the Marco Polo project.
·
T&E urges the
European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council to take the
necessary measures to level the playing field between transport modes.
·
T&E urges the
European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council to move ahead with
the implementation of a fair and efficient pricing system for all transport
modes, for both passenger and freight transport.
·
T&E urges the
European Commission to present a proposal for a sustainable European land use
policy.
For more information, please contact Markus Liechti
at T&E:
e-mail: markus.liechti@t-e.nu
phone: + 32 2 502 99 09
website: www.t-e.nu
© T&E, September 2002
[1] Council Strategy on the integration of environment
and sustainable development into the transport policy submitted by the
“Transport” Council to the European Council of Helsinki, Luxemburg,
6 October 1999
[2] Modal Shift – Consolidated Resolution on Combined
Transport, CEMT/CM(2002)3/FINAL, 04 June 2002
[3] A Sustainable Europe for a better World – A European
Union strategy for Sustainable Development; Presidency Conclusions –
Göteborg, 15 and 16 June 2001