Reducing household emissions: the contribution of the transport system
Climate neutrality by 2050? The objective of the Green Pact also calls into question the transport system from which 25% of total greenhouse gas emissions within the EU originate.
The analysis carried out by the European Commission in its 2011 Communication – “A Roadmap for moving to a competitive low-carbon economy in 2050” – identifies the contribution from the transport system as fundamental to the transition to a low-carbon economy.
The numbers estimated by COM. 2011 are promising: transport could reduce domestic emissions by more than 60 % by becoming more sustainable through greater vehicle efficiency, the use of electric vehicles and cleaner energy.
Towards low-emission mobility in Europe: the goal of the White Paper
Sustainable mobility has been high on the political agenda of the European Commission since 2011, when it issued its White Paper with the subtitle “Roadmap to a Single European Transport Area: Towards a competitive and resource-efficient transport system”.
The 2011 White Paper sets out to bring about a profound transformation in the transport sector by dictating the guidelines for this transformation through a 40-point roadmap aimed at reducing the EU’s dependence on oil imports, achieving essentially zero-emission urban logistics in major cities by 2030 and reducing CO2 emissions from transport by 60% by 2050 (based on 1990 emission levels).
TEN-T networks
Among the objectives set out in the White Paper is the completion of the Trans-European Networks (TEN-T): a set of integrated transport infrastructures designed to support the single market, ensure the free movement of goods and people and strengthen growth, employment and competitiveness in the European Union.
They represent one of the three constituent classes of trans-European networks (flanked by TEN-E networks operating in the energy sector and eTEN networks, active in the telecommunications sector), created in 1992 with the Maastricht Treaty.
These are interconnected national networks aimed at making the internal market more efficient and at achieving common objectives in terms of sustainable development, economic and social cohesion, competitiveness and security of energy supply within the European Union.
The TEN-T network specifically supports a policy for the decarbonization of transport and an active role of the EU in the global fight against climate change.
For a more connected and cleaner Europe
EU Regulation 1315/2013, which defined the TEN-T trans-European transport network, provides for its articulation on two levels:
– The Core Network, the core of the network, comprising the parts of the comprehensive network that are of the highest strategic importance for the achievement of the objectives for the development of the trans-European transport network (urban nodes, intermodal nodes, multimodal connections). It is entrusted with the task of connecting the 27 EU countries, constituting the indispensable prerequisite for achieving the objective of the single market.
– The Comprehensive Network, a peripheral section of the network, aims to ensure full coverage of the EU territory and accessibility to all regions. The Comprehensive Network integrates and interconnects the Core network and consists of all those transport infrastructures (road, rail, port, airport, intermodal centers) aimed at achieving the objectives of territorial cohesion.
The completion of its central core (Core) is expected by 2030, that of the peripheral sections (Comprehensive) by 2050, the year in which, according to the Green Deal, the EU should achieve climate neutrality: zero net emissions of greenhouse gases.
This goal closely affects the transport sector, which accounted for 27% of European CO2 production in 2017. Of this proportion, 72% was accounted for by road transport, 0.5% by rail transport. Decreasing the former in favor of the latter over the long haul would contribute to the reduction of accidents and road congestion. It is estimated that in 2030, thanks to the TEN-T network, the transport sector will produce 72 million tons of CO2 less than in 2017.
The sustainable mobility promoted by the TEN-T project is set to mark a new era in the world of transport.
Graduated in Philosophy at the University of Salerno and in Philosophical Sciences at the University of Padua. She is currently studying at the Italian Institute for Philosophical Studies. In Atmosphera lab, she has found a channel in which to express herself.
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