On 10 and 11 December 2020, ITF organised the event “Decarbonising Transport in Europe – Project results, scenarios feasibility and policy implications”. At this event, ITF presented two scenarios for decarbonising transport in Europe, discussed their implementation feasibility and evaluated the policy implications with a wide range of stakeholders. The event featured the results to date of the three-year Decarbonising Transport in Europe project (DTEU), funded by the European Union Horizon 2020 Programme.
The DTEU project aims to help the European Union achieve its CO2 reduction ambitions for the transport sector. The project will provide European policy makers with better quantitative evidence on the actual impact of CO2 mitigation measures.
ITF has developed a suite of advanced models of transport activity in Europe as part of the project. This will allow decision makers to select the most effective policy measures and identify realistic pathways towards decarbonising transport by 2050.
During the first day, the results, feasibility and policy implications of urban transport were discussed. On the second day, the results, feasibility and policy implications for non-urban passenger transport were presented by a range of speakers. Ms Lucie Anderton, Head of Sustainability at UIC, took the floor during the non-urban freight session on results, feasibility and policy implications.
She explained that the UIC saw the railways as the backbone of a sustainable and resilient logistics chain. In its work as part of the Rail Freight Forward coalition, UIC welcomed discussions today on how to best achieve the necessary modal shift to rail in non-urban freight. The ITF report and dialogues today underlined the need for all modes to work together in the most efficient and connected way. Digitalisation would be an important tool in creating a smoother intermodal connectivity.
She mentioned that the issue of externalities in freight should not be overlooked and that much could be gained from a better understanding of both environmental and social impacts, as well as the value derived from investing in public transport and sustainable mobility. UIC called for evidence-based policy and truly international thinking to set a clear direction. Mrs Anderton concluded by saying that measures had to set a level playing field that would incentivise the modal shift and growth of rail freight, such as reviewing track access charges, reducing the administrative burden for rail, and introducing carbon taxing.
Source: ITF
